Final Fantasy: On The Eve of Darkness
by Xenomorph
Summary: Decay and destruction inexorably seek to envelope the world, rotting the land and toppling empires. Four youths from the sheltered southern continents must set out to stop this terrible force, confronting the demonic enemies of the gods and standing as the only barrier against never-ending chaos. FFI Novelization.
1. Four Is Company

**Author's Note:** _Final Fantasy_ and all associated terms, characters, and items are property of Square Enix. Any other references, cameos, or homages from other sources are also property of their respective creators and copyright owners. All of these are used with the greatest respect and affection.

**Rating Details:** This story is rated for the following elements: Combat sequences, with some blood; explosive mayhem; brief coarse language and innuendo; and instances of potentially triggering subject matter. Feel free to contact me via PM if you have any questions or concerns about any of the above.

* * *

_The world lies shrouded in darkness._

_The winds die…_

_The seas rage…_

_The earth decays…_

_But the people believe in a prophecy,_

_patiently awaiting its fulfillment._

"_When darkness veils the world,_

_four Warriors of Light shall come…"_

**Final Fantasy: On the Eve of Darkness**

**Chapter 1: Four is Company**

"I can't believe you got us kicked out of _another_ town."

"Hey, hey, I didn't get us kicked out. We just got invited to leave and not come back for a good long while, that's all."

"Yeah. That's called 'getting kicked out'…"

Night had fallen over the realm of Cornelia. Slight dampness still hung in the air from the recent rain, and clouds billowed up high in the sky, blotting out the stars. Two young men walked through the forest that surrounded the capital city. One, tall and rather muscular with sandy-blond hair, surveyed his companion with obvious annoyance. The other, brown-haired and slightly shorter and more slender than his friend, did not appear overly bothered by this. He just adjusted the green bandana tied around his head and shrugged.

"Not my fault people around here got no sense of humor. _You_ thought it was funny as hell, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you don't owe me for bailing you out again. That's the money _and_ a replacement for my sword, Estel."

The brown-haired man, Estel, just waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah, I'll remember." His friend gave him a look, and he immediately tried to appear more repentant. He put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Seriously though, you got my undyin' thanks for that, Cen. Really."

"My uncle gave me that sword," Cen grumbled to himself, sounding a bit sullen. He gave Estel a sour look. "The things I do for you…"

Estel raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, I said thanks! You heard me say thanks!"

"Yeah, but still…"

Estel poked Cen's arm. "Come on…"

Cen shook his head. "All right, fine, yes. You're welcome."

"See, there you go. Seriously, Cen, I owe you for this one."

"Look, just try not to get into trouble when we get to the city and we'll call it even. This time, anyway." Cen stopped walking and looked around, assessing their location: they had reached the edge of a small clearing adjacent to the main path, surrounded by leafy evergreens. "How about we stop to camp now? It's getting late."

"Yeah, sure." Estel halted as well and leaned against a tree. "So, who're we gonna go see once we get to the city?"

"Some friend of Elend's," Cen said, shrugging. "I forgot his name, but Elend said he runs a kind of pawn shop in the merchant district. It shouldn't be too hard to find."

"And then we get to find out about these things we got, right?"

"Right."

Estel nodded, his expression a little more thoughtful than usual. "Okay."

Cen pulled off his pack and dropped it to the ground, then sat beside it and began getting out his bedroll. Estel watched him for a while, then looked up and stared off into the forest. A moment later, his eyes widened a bit and brightened as he smirked.

"I'll be right back, Cen. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Estel trotted off without another word, aiming for the small glimmer of ruddy firelight he had spotted among the trees in the distance. Cen glanced up, then, seeing the firelight himself, he straightened with sudden alarm.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

Estel did not stop to answer. Cen, cursing under his breath, grabbed his pack, got to his feet, and followed, twigs and leaves rustling as he brushed through the trees.

"Estel, wait! Stop right there!"

Estel slowed but did not stop. "What?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna go pay you back."

"What? Estel, no—" Cen broke off as he realized Estel was not paying any attention to him, instead just continuing on toward the nearby campfire. Cen sighed, shook his head, and followed him.

"Not a good idea," he muttered.

Estel shushed him, and the pair continued in silence until they reached the edge of a clearing. Concealed by the underbrush, they peered out into the dim light.

By a small campfire sat a figure, both its age and its sex indeterminate due to its long, high-collared blue robes and wide-brimmed pointed hat, which effectively hid any identifying characteristics. Only the figure's eyes could be seen, reflecting the light from the fire. The figure was looking at something bright and glittering it held in its hands, turning the object over in its fingers, and seemed completely unaware of the two young men watching from the shadows of the trees.

Estel blinked in surprise. "Oh."

"'Oh' what?" Cen whispered, keeping his voice low to prevent alerting the figure to their presence.

"I think that's a mage."

Cen frowned and started tugging Estel away. "Then let's go. Or are you actually going to try to steal from a mage?"

Estel shook his head slowly. "No, but…" He paused, frowning.

Out in the clearing, the mage put the glistening object into his pocket.

"Hey." Estel poked Cen in the shoulder, then jerked his thumb toward the mage. "Let's go ask him about these crystal-things from Elend."

"What?" Cen stopped, looking incredulous. "That would be worse than trying to steal from him. Do you know how stupid it is to just walk in on a mage unannounced?"

"Yeah, I do, thanks," Estel whispered with some sarcasm.

"So why does it sound like a good idea now?"

Estel shrugged. "I dunno. Change of pace."

Cen put his hand to his head. "Estel, no. That is a bad, bad idea. I don't want to startle this guy and end up frozen in a block of ice for my trouble."

Estel snorted. "Oh, c'mon. We could take a mage."

"You think you can throw a knife faster than he can cast a spell? Not a chance. It's not worth the risk. Let's just get out of here, okay?"

"Nah, come on, let's go ask him. These things're definitely magical _somehow_, right? So a mage's gotta know something."

Cen just looked skeptical and raised an eyebrow.

Estel flapped a hand at him. "Don't look at me like that! Look, if we get hit with Firaga or something, you can blame me. Okay?"

"I'll be sure to," Cen muttered, shaking his head in resignation. Still, it was with obvious reluctance that he stepped forward into the circle of firelight, followed by Estel. "Excuse us," he said, addressing the mage, "we were just—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the mage leapt to his feet, one hand holding a short knife, the other extended in front of him, flames curling between his fingers. Cen and Estel stepped back in alarm.

"Not another step," the mage said, his voice harsh. "I have traveled this far, I will not be robbed now."

"We weren't going to rob you!" Cen said, shooting a stern look at Estel as he did. "We just wanted to ask you something."

Estel nodded fervently, eyeing the mage's outstretched hand with unease.

The mage studied them for a moment with deep suspicion, his eyes narrowed, then he slowly lowered his hand. Cen and Estel sighed in relief, even though the mage did not yet put away his knife.

"Who are you?" His voice was rough, and also deeper than Cen and Estel had expected, given his slight frame.

"I'm Cen Venture, and this is my brother Estel." Cen gestured to each of them as he gave their names. "We're just travelers on our way to Cornelia."

The mage looked them over again, his eyes narrowing a bit more as they flicked over Estel; apparently his suspicion had not been relieved by their willing introduction. "And what do you want of me?"

Estel frowned. "Sounds like your dad," he muttered to Cen. "Old and cranky."

Cen ignored this.

"We just want to ask you a question," he said to the mage. "We got these things a little while back, but we're not sure what to make of them. Do you know what they are?"

He and Estel each held out a hand-length, jagged shard of crystal. Estel's was green, but dull and lusterless, while Cen's was bright red and glowed as though a fire burned within it. The mage's eyes widened as he stared at them, then narrowed again as he looked up at Cen and Estel.

"Where did you find these?"

"We didn't," Estel said.

One of the mage's eyes widened, presumably because he raised an eyebrow. "Explain what you mean by that."

"Cen's, er, our uncle, Elend, got 'em for us," Estel said. "He was out pokin' around at…" He hesitated, looking questioningly at Cen. "Whisperwind Cove?"

Cen nodded, but he looked a little exasperated by Estel's candidness.

"Right. Whisperwind Cove. Anyway," Estel continued, "he found these all froze up in the wall and decided to dig them out and bring 'em back. Almost didn't make it, 'cause a couple of dragons decided to chase him out, but he got back to camp safe with everything. He gave these to me and Cen, and we all got thinkin' there was something weird about them—"

"Why?" the mage interrupted.

"'Cause they felt real warm when me and Cen held 'em, but ice cold whenever Elend or any of the rest of the guys did," Estel said. "Anyway, we decided to go to Cornelia to see if we could find anything out."

The mage looked back at the crystals, then, with some reluctance, put his knife away. He reached into a pocket of his robes, and a moment later he also pulled out a crystal shard, identical to the others except that it was deep blue. Like Estel's, it was dim and dark inside.

"So," the mage said quietly, "three have been gathered…" He looked back at Cen and Estel. "It seems, then, I have been expecting you."

"Er…" Estel exchanged an uneasy look with Cen. "You have? Why?"

"Because of these." The mage gestured to the crystals. "There are four of these crystals in existence. We now have three of them here, and it would be wise to locate the fourth. These are very important objects." He returned his shard to his pocket and sat down beside the fire, staring into it thoughtfully. "We _must_ find whoever has the fourth crystal," he muttered, almost to himself.

Cen raised an eyebrow. "'We'? How come we've been drafted to help you all of a sudden?"

The mage gave Cen an annoyed and slightly incredulous look. "Because it is imperative these crystals remain together. It therefore stands to reason the bearers of the crystals must remain together as well."

"Oh, really." Cen folded his arms across his chest, frowning and looking good and ready to dig in his heels. "Well, we already had plans for what we were going to do next, so it looks like you're out of luck."

"Cen, don't be an ass," Estel said. "We just found out what we wanted to know, so why not go along with him? It won't kill us."

"How do you know?" Cen asked, turning to Estel. "We don't even know if he's telling the truth. Besides, he's making us give _him_ letter and verse about us but hasn't even told us his name."

"I assure you, I am telling the truth," the mage interrupted, regarding Cen with dislike. "And I have not given my name because you have not asked for it. Not all are as free with information as is your friend."

"So what _is_ your name?" Estel asked.

"And why do you figure we're going to go along with all this?" Cen added.

The mage looked them over again before he answered. "My name is Rath, and I do not 'figure' you will go along with anything. Indeed, you have every right to be skeptical of me and what I have said to you. I am none too sure about either of you myself." His gaze flicked to Estel again, his eyes narrowing.

"Then why try to convince us?" Cen asked, frowning.

"Because you are the proper bearers of those shards; their reaction to you proves that. Were you merely on your way to deliver them to others, I would not be so insistent you accompany me."

"Well…" Estel glanced at Cen. "We _might_ have sold them in Cornelia if they'd been worth enough." He looked back at Rath, whose eyes had widened. "But if they're one of a kind like you say, then the shop would've just screwed us over on the price, so we might as well hang on to them."

This struck Rath speechless. He stared at Estel with absolute incredulity for a moment before he managed to regain the use of his voice.

"You would have _sold_ them?"

Estel shrugged. "Yeah. Why not?"

"Is that a bad idea?" Cen asked, raising an eyebrow.

Evidently, Rath could not comprehend this and remain seated at the same time. He got to his feet and began pacing back and forth on his side of the fire. He withdrew his own shard again and looked at it, turning it over in his hands. Cen and Estel watched him for a moment and exchanged glances with each other.

Rath finally stopped his pacing and looked back at them, his eyes narrowed. "That," he said, "is a _very_ bad idea."

"So, tell us why," Cen said.

Rath was silent for a moment, tapping his shard against the palm of one hand.

"These shards are connected to the four forces which control the world," he said at last.

"What?" Estel looked down at his shard, holding it so the firelight shone through it. "They are? No, they're not. Are they?" He looked at Cen, then at Rath in confusion.

"Yes, they are," Rath said. "They are part of the altars from which the forces flow, and as such are of immeasurable magnitude. To sell them off to a random merchant could very well mean the destruction of the world."

Estel opened his mouth to say something, stopped, and looked at Cen.

"Um?"

Cen stared down at his own shard, his brow furrowed slightly in concentration. "And if we kept them?"

Rath did not answer at once. "That depends upon whether you were telling the truth concerning how the shards reacted to you."

"We were," Estel said. "No reason for us to lie about it."

Rath glanced at Estel, and his eyes narrowed slightly again. "Then that is proof enough. The question still remains, however: are you willing to accompany me in the search for the fourth?"

There was a long pause. Rath resumed his seat by the fire, returning his shard to his pocket and watching Cen and Estel. Estel looked fully convinced by Rath's words, but Cen continued to frown at his shard, his eyebrows drawn together in thought.

"Where were you headed?" he asked.

"The city of Cornelia," Rath said.

Cen nodded slowly.

Estel looked down at his shard again with renewed interest. "Been lookin' for these for a while, then, huh? I mean, if they're that important." He glanced at Rath.

"Yes," Rath said after a short pause. "I have. These crystals are of vital importance. So, as their bearers, are we, and for that reason I hope you will heed what I have just said to you."

Estel nodded, then looked back at Cen, who was still debating with himself. "Well? You gotta admit, he makes a good point."

Finally, Cen sighed and nodded. Estel grinned at him, the expression more bolstering than anything else, then planted himself next to the fire, across from Rath. Cen sat more slowly. Rath studied their faces as they drew nearer to the firelight; his eyes widened slightly as he looked at Estel, but neither of the others noticed. Now that they were closer, though, and the firelight fell more directly on what very little was visible of Rath's face, Cen and Estel could see that he was not as old as Estel had suspected. In fact, if the look in and around his eyes was any indicator, he was only a year or two older than Cen, if that.

Rath, noticing their scrutiny of him, pulled his hat farther down on his head.

"I take it this means you have decided to stay."

Estel nodded. "Yup. So, why're these crystal things so important, anyway?"

"I think any further discussion of them should wait until we have found the fourth shard and its bearer," Rath said. "We should sleep now. It is a day's journey to the gates of Cornelia, so we must be able to start as soon as possible in the morning."

"Okay."

Cen looked down at his shard again, frowning thoughtfully, then looked at Rath. "These really _are_ that important, right?"

"Yes," Rath said. "They are."

"Right. Just making sure…"

* * *

Rath woke the others at a painfully early hour the next morning. The clouds of the previous day had dissipated, leaving the sky a very deep, clear blue. Only a band of pale grey light along the eastern horizon gave evidence of the impending sunrise. Estel rolled over in his bedroll, squinted up at the still-dark sky, groaned, and pulled his blanket over his head.

Cen, already awake and ready to leave, nudged Estel with his foot. "Come on, it's time to go."

"No. Go 'way."

"Well, I _would_, but we need you to come with us. Come on."

"Leeme 'lone."

Cen shook his head, then reached down and pulled Estel's blanket away. Estel snatched after it but missed, seizing only air, and tumbled into the dirt. Cen laughed, and Estel glared up at him.

"Not funny."

Cen just continued to laugh as he tossed Estel's blanket back to him. Estel caught it before it could hit him in the face and, grumbling about how much he hated happy morning people, started packing up his gear.

Rath, who had completely ignored this little exchange, led the way on the day's march, continuing along the same path Cen and Estel had been following the night before. This did not go over very well with Cen, but he was too busy trying to drag Estel along to complain about it. As they walked, Rath kept peering from side to side into the light-dappled forest as though looking for something. Sometimes he would pause and glance behind them. He looked decidedly odd doing this rather eccentric searching, given his serious demeanor and rather impressive mage's attire, his eyes gleaming slightly beneath the brim of his hat. The hat was itself an oddity, in fact, as Rath had yet to remove it; he had even slept with it on.

Estel, once he was awake enough to care, found Rath's behavior very peculiar.

"What's he doin'?" he muttered to Cen. Cen shrugged.

Yet somehow, for all his vigilance, Rath still managed to walk right into a white-robed figure who emerged from around a bend in the path just in front of him. The collision knocked them both to the ground in a tangle of robes. The other person regained her feet before Rath did and immediately offered a hand to help him up.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, her blue eyes wide and worried. "I should have been watching where I was going. Are you all right?"

Rath, however, did not look at the young woman; he was staring at a yellow shard of crystal which lay on the packed dirt. At length, he allowed her to help him to his feet.

"Thank you," he said.

The young woman smiled, then stooped to pick up the glittering crystal.

"Where did you find that?" Rath asked.

The young woman froze, then looked at the shard she held in her hand. "I was given it," she said. "By my temple. I was meant to come to Cornelia to ask about it."

Estel was barely taking this in, being rather involved in staring at the girl. Almost unconsciously, he stood a little straighter and attempted to tidy his clothes. Cen noticed this and snickered.

Rath cast the pair a contemptuous look, then turned his attention back to the young woman. "What is your name?"

The young woman stowed the shard in a pocket of her robes. "Sapphire."

Rath nodded. "Sapphire, you should come with us."

Sapphire started to say something, then she stopped, blinking and looking confused. "I…should? Why?"

"Because it appears we have a common purpose."

"Yeah," Estel broke in, earning another irritated look from Rath. "We all got crystals like that too."

Sapphire looked at him, her eyes widening. "You do? You've found the others?"

Estel nodded and drew out his own shard as evidence. "See?"

"Oh!" Sapphire blinked in surprise. "I didn't…I mean, I was told to be looking, but I didn't expect to actually find you so soon!" She looked around at the others with a pleasant smile. "Where are you headed?"

"Cornelia," Cen said. "Just the same as you."

"Oh, but…" Sapphire went a bit pink. "I was actually just there. I had wanted to speak to…" She hesitated, looking concerned, before continuing. "…someone about my crystal, but he wasn't in the city."

Rath stared at her. "He is not there?"

Sapphire shook her head. "No. One of his colleagues told me he had 'gone to seek the crescent moon', but I have no idea what he meant by that."

"Oh, splendid." Rath shook his head, his eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Estel raised his hand to attract some attention. "Question. Who're we talkin' about here?"

"Sage Lukahn," Sapphire said. "He's the prophet and soothsayer of the royal family of Cornelia."

Cen, frowning, began to ask something, but Rath cut him off.

"We will go to Cornelia regardless. Though Lukahn is gone, there will most certainly be information there which can aid us. We will need to rest there before setting out again, at any rate."

"Wait a moment," Sapphire said, looking slightly dismayed. "I can't go back yet. I was just starting off on another errand, a very important one. Can't I at least finish that first, before we go back?"

Rath shut his eyes for a moment. "And where _is_ your errand?"

"North of here, just a few days' journey across the bridge."

"Then I am afraid you are out of luck," Rath said. "The bridge is currently undergoing repairs; the Cornelian Guard is allowing no one across."

"The port's out too," Estel added before Sapphire could contest Rath's point. "Pirate attack. Whole place got blasted to tiny little pieces. We're _all_ kinda stuck here for a while, that way."

"It seems, then," Rath said, "you have little choice but to accompany us to Cornelia, if only to wait for some manner of transportation to become available."

Sapphire nodded slowly. "I…I suppose so. Yes, of course you're right. That's all we can do right now."

"Precisely."

Rath started back down the path, dirt crunching beneath his boots, before any of the others could reply. Sapphire, after casting a quick glance at the other two men, hurried after him. Cen and Estel gaped after the pair in confusion before they began walking themselves.

"Where does he get off putting himself in charge like that?" Cen said, sounding a bit prickly. "Just because he's a spell-casting know-it-all…"

Estel tisked Cen and waved a reproving finger at him. "Now, now, don't be so touchy. What's the problem, anyway? If he knows what he's doin', I don't see why he shouldn't be in charge. Just like with us before, right? You got to be leader because you always knew where we were goin'."

"Yeah, but I wasn't such a jerk about it."

"Well, yeah." Estel glanced up the path at Rath and Sapphire, then straightened his bandana a little. "So," he said, trying to sound casual, "what d'you think of that girl?"

Cen's annoyance evaporated instantly, and he gave Estel an amused look. "Oh, I don't know. She seems pretty nice, but I don't think she's really your type."

Estel spluttered. "I…you…that isn't what I asked!"

"I know," Cen said, trying not to laugh. "It's true, though. I mean, if she's from a temple like she says…"

"Hmph." Estel scowled but quickly recovered. "I'm gonna go talk to her."

"Good for you. Defy the odds, attaboy."

Estel told Cen to go do something anatomically impossible, then he trotted ahead to walk beside Sapphire.

"Hi," he said.

Sapphire started a little and looked up at him with surprise. "Oh. Hello."

"Hi. So, looks like we're all in this crystal thing together, huh?"

"Yes, it does…" She trailed off, frowning a bit. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name."

"Oh, right. I'm Estel." He pointed back over his shoulder at Cen, who had moved forward to listen to the conversation. "That's Cen." He pointed up the trail at Rath. "And he's Rath."

"Ah." Sapphire nodded and smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

Estel grinned. "Nice to meet you, too. So, er, it's kinda weird, you bein' out here all on your own like this. Weren't you worried about gettin' attacked or anything?"

"Well, maybe a little. It's not too dangerous this close to the city, though."

"Yeah…" Estel paused, then added, "Well, still pretty lucky you ran into us like you did, though."

Sapphire nodded.

"So, why were you headed up to Pravoka, anyway?"

"Well…" Sapphire paused for thought. "Actually, I think where I was going is still on Cornelian land. That border changes so much, though, that it's hard to keep track of where things are sometimes."

"Right…" Estel glanced back at Cen, who was smirking broadly, then returned his attention to Sapphire, leaning forward a bit to try to catch her eye. "Still, whoever has it, that's some rough land. Pretty brave of you to wanna go up there by yourself."

"No, not really. It's more of a necessity than anything else, not because I want to go. Being brave or not doesn't really have a lot to do with it."

"Oh."

Behind them, there was a muffled choking sound as Cen struggled to keep from laughing. Estel tried to ignore this. He bit the inside of his cheek, glancing around at the surrounding evergreens and trying to think of something to say. In the silence, Sapphire adjusted her pack, and one of the straps slipped off her shoulder. Estel reached over and pushed it back into place.

Sapphire gave him a slightly puzzled look. "Thank you…"

"You're welcome." He hesitated for another moment. "So, you're a mage…er, healer, right?"

There was another choke, and Cen had to fall back a few paces to try to get control of himself. Sapphire glanced back at him with concern before replying to Estel.

"Yes, I am."

"How long have you been trainin'?"

"Nearly ten years." Sapphire frowned a little. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. You know, since it looks like we're gonna be travelin' together for a while and everything."

"More than just a while, if we all have the shards," Sapphire said with a smile. "This is going to be a very large task."

"Oh, er, right. Yeah. Exactly. Big important stuff, that."

Cen could no longer contain himself; he snorted with laughter and had to stop walking as he fought to stifle it.

Sapphire glanced back at him, then at Estel. "Is he all right?"

"He's fine," Estel said, shooting a quick scowl back at Cen.

Rath, who had been doing his utmost to ignore the discussion going on behind him, shook his head and increased his pace, putting some distance between himself and the others. Sapphire stared after him, looking slightly chastened.

"Maybe we should stop talking," she said to Estel. "I think it's bothering him."

Estel looked as though he wanted to protest, then he changed his mind, looking a bit crestfallen. "Yeah, okay. I'll just…I'll go check on Cen." He dropped back to walk beside Cen, who was still chuckling.

Sapphire hurried along the path to catch up with Rath. Once she was out of earshot, Estel scowled and punched Cen hard on the arm. "Cut that out!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Cen said, not sounding very sorry at all. "It's just—"

"Don't. Just don't. I don't wanna hear it."

Cen nodded, attempting to look appropriately apologetic. After a few moments, though, he said, "But, really, I've seen trolls with better moves than that."

"Dammit, Cen! You—"

"Hey, watch your language," Cen said, smirking a little as he spoke over Estel's tirade. "There's a lady present now, remember."

Estel fumed in silence for the rest of the day.

* * *

The group reached the city of Cornelia that evening, just after the sun had set; the high outer wall cast its long shadow out over the streets and buildings, and only the tallest spires of the gleaming Castle Cornelia still had light falling upon them. An unusually large number of guards, their leather armor embossed with Cornelia's crest, stood at each gate in the city's wall, and more patrolled the cobbled streets; Estel, keeping close to Cen, tried to project an air of innocence as they passed. Rath led the group to an inn near the merchant district while making a point of avoiding the other people who were about.

"We do not want to attract any attention or be questioned yet," he had explained in a low voice. "We must discuss something first."

The four now sat around a table in a corner of the inn's common room. The room was large, though at the moment occupied by very few other patrons. A bar stood at the far side of the room, the wall behind it lined with bottles of a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Red-shaded lamps hung from the ceiling, sending up thin trickles of smoke to pool among the soot-stained rafters. A fire crackled in the fireplace.

Rath stared down at the table, his fingers steepled in front of him. Cen and Sapphire sat on either side of him, waiting for him to speak, while Estel sat on the opposite side of the table, chair tipped back on two legs as he stared at the sooty ceiling.

"You realize," Rath said after a moment, "this is not a coincidence. There is a purpose to us possessing these shards, and to our meeting each other as we did." He lifted his head to look at the others, his eyes gleaming from beneath the brim of his hat.

Sapphire nodded, and Cen and Estel exchanged glances.

"So, if it wasn't coincidence, what was it?" Estel asked, settling his chair onto all four legs with a thud.

"Destiny," Sapphire said softly. The others turned to look at her. "Many years ago, Sage Lukahn made a prophecy: 'When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come'…"

Cen looked slightly incredulous. "So you think _we're_ these Warriors?"

"There is no speculation involved," Rath said. "We _are_ the Warriors."

"How do you know?"

Rath gave Cen an irritated look. "We have the crystals. That is proof enough."

"Not only do we have them," Sapphire added, "but we also all came here because of them. Right? That's part of the reason I came to Cornelia in the first place. What about the rest of you?" She looked around at others. "Estel? Cen? Why were you coming here?"

"The shards," Estel said. "Elend wanted us to find out what they are. I don't think he figured they were anything special, though."

"And you, Rath?" Sapphire asked, turning to him. "Were you here because of your shard?"

Rath nodded.

"There, you see?" Sapphire looked back at Cen. "We're all here because of the shards. Even just that is proof that our meeting was supposed to happen."

Cen shrugged and nodded, allowing the point.

"What's with that 'veil of darkness' bit?" Estel asked. He leaned back to peer out the window behind him, then turned back to the others, looking confused and skeptical in equal measure. "Doesn't seem any darker than normal to me."

Rath gave Estel a rather unflattering look. "It is not referring to a lack of sunlight. It means the order of the world is in danger. The flow of the four forces is being disrupted. It has been prophesied the Warriors of Light will restore the flow, and so prevent the destruction of the world."

Estel blinked, then laughed and shook his head. "You're kiddin', right? There's no way we could do that. Come on…" He looked around at the others. "People who do big important stuff like that? They're supposed to be older, and they're supposed to know what they're doin'. I mean, I don't think any one of us is more'n twenty. How can we save the world?"

Rath did not reply. Estel, frowning, turned to Sapphire instead.

"Is that why you were comin' here to talk to that sage? To ask him about this prophecy thing?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, that's why. I knew about the prophecy already, but I needed to talk to Lukahn about something that happened recently." She took out her shard and stared at it thoughtfully. "This piece of crystal used to glow, as though it had a tiny ember inside it. A few months ago, though…its light went out. We were worried about it, so I came to ask Lukahn what had happened. But, since he's not here…"

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group, broken only by the clink of bottles at the bar and the murmur of conversation from the other patrons.

"So what do we do now?" Cen asked finally.

"Sleep," Rath said. "Tomorrow morning we will attempt to gain an audience with the king. Even if he knows nothing of Lukahn's whereabouts, he will still be able to provide aid for us before we leave again." With that, he stood and strode out of the room, not even checking to see if the others were following him.

Estel stared after him. "Is that it? You gotta be kiddin' me." He turned to Cen. "Fat lot of help that was; he hardly explained anything. You were right before, Cen. I don't think he should be in charge either."

Cen nodded. "See, I told you."

"Don't say that," Sapphire said, looking a bit wounded. "At least you know more now than you did when you first got your crystals, right?"

"Well, yeah…" Estel glanced away in embarrassment. "Still doesn't make a ton of sense, though. I mean, us? Heroes? Doesn't seem quite right to me."

"Are you sure he was right about that?" Cen asked.

Sapphire nodded. "Very sure. I grew up hearing about this prophecy, so I have no reason not to believe what Rath just told us."

"Where _did_ you grow up?" Estel asked, watching Sapphire with interest as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table.

Sapphire looked surprised. "Oh, um, here in Cornelia, actually, at least when I was young."

Estel grinned. "Seriously? That's funny. I lived here when I was a squirt too."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yep. Where about did you live? Maybe we met each other before."

Sapphire looked away from Estel for a moment as she put her shard back in her pocket. "A little north of where we are now. Nearer to the castle."

"Oh yeah?" Estel's eyes widened, and he gave an impressed whistle. "No kidding. That's upper crust area up there."

Cen, who had been listening to this exchange with no small amount of amusement, got to his feet. "I'm going to go get a drink. You two have fun talking."

"Oh, hey." Estel twisted around to look at Cen as he started walking away. "Get me something too, huh?"

"Yeah, sure." Cen stopped and looked back. "Do you want anything, Sapphire?"

Sapphire shook her head. "No, thank you. I'm fine."

"Okay." Cen started off to the bar again, weaving his way between the tables and chairs dotted around the room.

Estel watched him go with a bit of a smirk, then he turned back to Sapphire. "So, anyway. Lived by the castle, huh?"

"Oh, um, yes." Sapphire nodded. "What about you?"

"Well…" Estel sat up a little straighter, shifting in his seat. "You know, when you come in the south gate, and you look to the…" He paused, looking down at his hands in an effort to remember which was which. "To the left," he finally said, lifting his left hand a bit as he looked back at Sapphire. "And there's that kind of grungy-lookin' place with the 'three walls and a ceiling' sort of houses?"

Sapphire nodded.

"Right. I lived back there."

"What?" Sapphire's eyes widened in surprise. "You grew up _there_?"

"Yup. Had a pretty good setup, too. House had four whole walls and everything, _and_ two rooms."

Now, Sapphire looked absolutely baffled. "But—"

A shout of alarm from the bar cut off her reply. Sapphire and Estel both looked over, Estel grinning broadly, and saw Cen just as he spun around to glare at them.

"Estel, what did you do with my money?!"

Estel laughed. "Finally noticed, huh?" He untied a coin pouch from his belt and held it up where Cen could see it, shaking it a little so the coins clinked around inside. "Right here, pal! You really gotta be more careful!"

Cen stomped across the room and snatched the pouch from Estel's hand. "I told you to cut that out. Steal from someone else the next time your fingers get itchy."

"Aw, but no one else reacts as good as you do, Cen," Estel said, still grinning.

Cen scowled and went back to the bar without replying.

"What was that about?" Sapphire asked, looking at Estel with confusion. "Do you do that to him a lot?"

Estel nodded. "Yeah. Supposed to keep him on his toes, all alert and everything. 'Cept he hasn't caught me at it even once." He shook his head in mock-disappointment.

"And was he serious when he told you to steal from someone else instead?"

"Nah, I don't think so. He wants me to actually behave myself while we're here, see, 'cause I owe him for bailin' me outta trouble in the last town we were in."

"Oh…" Sapphire had a slightly undecipherable expression on her face, looking torn between curiosity and unease. "I see…"

Estel shrugged. "It's no big deal. But, anyway, looks like we were at opposite ends of things, doesn't it? So, where'd you go after here? You did say you were only here when you were a little kid."

"I…" Sapphire hesitated. She looked down at her hands, then out the darkened window behind Estel. "You know, it…it's getting a bit late. I'm going to go to bed."

"Huh?" Estel blinked in surprise. "Oh…"

"I'll see you in the morning."

Estel nodded. "Okay."

"Good night, Estel." Sapphire got to her feet and left the room.

Estel blinked after her, slightly perplexed and disappointed. After a moment, he frowned and folded his arms on the table, resting his chin on them and looking very woebegone, his brow furrowed.

Just then, Cen returned, carrying two large tankards. He plunked one down in front of Estel before sitting down and taking a long drink from the other. He set his tankard down with a clunk and looked at Estel.

"Got knocked down, huh?"

"No, I didn't. I'm fine. Nothing happened. You don't know what you're talkin' about. Go away."

Cen gave a snort of laughter. "Okay, sure. I did warn you, though." He nodded to the tankard. "Come on, drink up. You'll feel better."

"Doubt it," Estel muttered, but he sat up and took a drink all the same. He glanced at the doorway that led from the common room, frowning. "I'm not givin' up."

Cen sighed. "And again, the ghost of mule-headedness raises its mule head."

"Shut up."

They sat in silence for a while, nursing their drinks.

"So what do you think about this crystal business?" Cen asked eventually.

"Honestly?"

"Yeah."

"I'm startin' to think we should've told Elend to keep the damn things."

Cen raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

"Why?"

Estel shrugged. "Just doesn't seem like a real good setup to me."

"What, because of what just happened?" Cen asked with some amusement.

Another shrug.

"I don't know." Cen took another drink, looking thoughtful. "If that is all true, what Sapphire and Rath said, then…" He trailed off and shrugged. "I mean, saving the world. That's a really big deal. If we could do something that huge and important, why shouldn't we try?"

Estel took a drink. "Point."

There was another pause.

"Well, come on," Cen said. He drained his tankard and set it back on the table with a thunk. "Let's turn in. We don't want to be hungover and half-asleep when we go talk to the king tomorrow, right?"

There was a pause, then Estel nodded. "Yeah. Right." He finished off his drink as well and got to his feet. "But if the sun ain't up before we are, I'm not gettin' out of bed no matter what you have to say about it."

Cen shook his head, smirking. "Whatever you say, Estel."


	2. The City of Dreams

**Chapter 2: The City of Dreams**

The next day did not go as Rath had intended.

The group did not leave the inn until rather late that morning, owing mainly to Estel's protestations at waking early. Then, as they proceeded along the tree-lined boulevard that led to the castle, Cen caught sight of a weapon shop and made a beeline toward it, leaving the others behind. Estel smirked after him, then disappeared off in the opposite direction, not offering a word of explanation for his departure. This left Rath and Sapphire standing together in a small, open town square, Sapphire looking somewhat confused and Rath glaring in annoyance.

"If this is indicative of their general behavior, the length of our journey will double." He shook his head and cast a glance at Sapphire. "I should at least be grateful _you_ have not wandered off as well."

"I…suppose so," Sapphire said. She watched Rath curiously. "It's lucky that I finished all my shopping when I was here before, then."

Rath made a non-committal sort of noise, then he turned away and walked over to the large stone fountain in the center of the square. He stared down into the water, his head tilted so that what little could be seen of his face was entirely overshadowed by the brim of his hat. In the full sunlight, his attire did not have quite the same mysterious aura to it; in fact, it looked rather shabby. His hat was battered and frayed, and his heavy robes had been patched, mended, and let out more than was surely sensible; anyone else would have replaced them by this point. In one hand he held a long, uncarved staff, heavily dented and scratched, which looked like little more than a branch he had picked up somewhere. Sapphire watched him, taking all this in, then walked over and sat down on the edge of the fountain near where he stood.

"Have you ever been here before?" she asked.

Rath's hand tightened slightly around his staff, and he shot Sapphire a suspicious look. "Not recently."

Sapphire started to speak again, but Estel's sudden return interrupted her. He looked very pleased with himself, a small leather pouch swinging from one hand.

"Look at this," he said, opening the pouch and displaying the contents to the two mages. Small silver coins sparkled up at them. "That's four hundred gil right there. Oughta help keep us for a little while, huh?" He cinched the bag closed and grinned.

Rath raised an eyebrow. "Dare I ask how you came by that money?"

"Took it." Estel shrugged. "People don't watch their purses close enough."

Rath lifted his gaze skyward and made a quiet, exasperated sound, but Sapphire looked utterly shocked.

"You can't do things like that!" she said. "That's stealing!"

Estel gave her a rather blank look. "Well, yeah, 'course it is. But travelin' ain't cheap, and this'll help us out."

"But…but…" Sapphire stammered for a moment, aghast. "But, that doesn't make it right! You—"

Just then, Cen arrived back, looking irritated. Estel raised an eyebrow and started to say something, but Sapphire spoke up first.

"Cen, Estel's stolen from someone."

"Huh?" Cen stared at her, her words taking a few moments to fully register. "He did?" He shot a partly embarrassed, partly annoyed look at Estel. "Come on, Estel. I told you to lay off while we were here, didn't I?"

"Might've," Estel said, not making eye contact. "Well, wait, no, you just said not to get into trouble, and I haven't, 'cause it's only trouble if I get caught."

Cen started to reply, then he stopped and shook his head. "All right, fine. I guess I can't argue with that."

Estel beamed in triumph.

Sapphire, on the other hand, looked even more offended. "How can you both think that's all right?"

Cen shrugged. "It's just kind of what he does. I've given up on arguing with him about it by now."

"That's right," Estel said, nodding.

Sapphire turned to look imploringly at Rath. "You agree with me, don't you?"

"I happen to agree with your moral stance, yes," Rath said. "I also, however, believe pressing the matter now would be an exercise in futility. What is done is done."

Stunned by this lack of support, Sapphire turned away with a frown, folding her arms across her chest. Estel frowned a little as well, and for a moment he looked as though he was second-guessing his actions. His moment of consternation was short-lived, however, and he shook his head and turned to Cen.

"So what was that look for?"

Cen blinked, trying to work out what Estel meant. "What look?"

"The one you had on your face when you walked up," Estel said. "That 'I'm pissed off about something' look."

"Oh, that." Cen scowled. "Just that they don't have _any_ good swords for sale in this place. No, wait, I said that wrong: they don't have any swords _at all_."

Estel stared. "You're joking."

Cen shook his head.

This was apparently confusing enough to break through Sapphire's annoyance. She looked at Cen. "What? Of course they have swords. I mean, all the heavy weaponry is reserved for the army, but there are still rapiers and those kinds of things."

Cen gave a derisive snort. "Rapiers aren't swords. They're toothpicks with puffed-up opinions of themselves."

Estel snickered. "Yeah, yeah. Gonna hafta put up with 'em, though, unless you _wanna_ fight with just your knife."

The look on Cen's face said quite plainly how amusing he found that idea. This did not stop Estel snickering, however.

"Aw, quit pullin' that face. Hey, c'mon, let's head back to that store; I'll dig something up for you." He started off in the direction of the shop, towing Cen along with him. They stopped short, however, as Rath stormed over and blocked their path.

"Perhaps you have forgotten," he said, his eyes narrowed, "but we have far more important things to do before the day is out. I hardly think it too much to ask for you to at least _pretend_ to focus until we have completed our original task."

Cen and Estel exchanged looks.

"Okay, fine," Cen said, now looking annoyed for an entirely different reason. "We'll do this later."

"Good." Rath turned and started off toward the castle once more; Sapphire got to her feet and followed him up the cobbled street. Cen and Estel followed more slowly, but not before Estel had pulled a face at Rath's back.

Though heavily populated and the capital of the largest empire since that of the Lufenians, the city of Cornelia still appeared very open and uncrowded. The cobbled streets were wide and clean, lined with trees and frequently opening up into small squares with fountains in the center; the houses, shops, and churches were all well-kept, and manicured lawns and lovely gardens surrounded the mansions nearer to the castle.

All this, though, paled in comparison with Castle Cornelia itself. It rose high above every other building in the city, the mythril roofs of the turrets reflecting the sunlight in gleaming sprays. A high defensive wall surrounded the grounds, which contained an expanse of green lawn and a number of exotic trees. High above, stained glass windows glinted. It was not only a building intended to be pleasing to the eye, however. Its thick, vast granite walls and sturdy base lent it an imposing air, and armories and forges dotted the inner side of the defensive wall. Guards and bowmen, bearing the blue and gold livery of Cornelia, patrolled the wall top.

With appropriate solemnity partially enforced by Rath, the four companions approached the great gates in the outer wall. Again, there seemed to be an inordinate number of guards present: not only the city guards in their stamped leather armor, but also mail-clad royal guards from within the castle itself. One of the latter stepped forward and called the four companions to a halt.

"You may go no further," he said. "None are being permitted to enter the castle."

Rath's eyes narrowed. "It is imperative we speak with the king."

"None are being permitted to enter," the guard repeated.

"Please." Sapphire stepped forward. "We must speak with King Hiram at once. It's a matter of very great importance."

The guard turned and looked at her, then, to the surprise of the others, he inclined his head with obvious deference. "I do apologize, Lady Sapphire, but it is by King Hiram's command."

Cen and Estel exchanged curious looks.

"These men and I are the crystal bearers from Lukahn's prophecy," Sapphire said. "It's very important that we speak with King Hiram. Please, you must let us enter."

The guard's eyes widened in surprise. "Crystal bearers?"

Sapphire nodded and brought out her shard as proof. Estel drew his shard out nearly as quickly, followed by Cen and, very slowly, by Rath.

The surprise in the guard's eyes changed to awe. "Th-the crystals… Yes, of course, you must see the king at once. Follow me."

He turned and passed through the gateway; the companions did as instructed and followed him into the courtyard and toward the castle.

Inside the courtyard, the evidence of increased security became even more obvious. All around the armories that lined the outer wall, troops drilled and sparred, overseen by knights in gleaming plate armor. From inside the forges, smoke billowed as smiths made and repaired weapons; outside some, it even looked as though war engines were under construction.

Sapphire looked around at all this in puzzlement. "I don't understand. Things weren't like this when I left before."

Estel nodded his agreement. "Yeah, weird. Did a war or something break out when we weren't lookin'?"

The guard led them through the castle doors and into the wide, pillared entrance hall, dotted with guards and bustling servants. At the end of the hall stood a grand, sweeping staircase; the group ascended this and reached a narrower hall, also pillared and lined with stained glass windows. They proceeded to the end of the hall, stopping before a pair of double doors: the entrance to the throne room.

"Wait here," the guard instructed. "I will announce you." He entered the room, shutting the doors behind him and leaving the companions standing out in the hall.

Estel stared around with unabashed amazement. "_Damn_. Never thought I'd ever get to be in a place as nice as this. This 'Light Warrior' stuff is startin' to grow on me."

A few moments later, the doors opened again. Sapphire and Rath both stepped forward at once, Cen and Estel following a few paces behind. The guard who had escorted them stood just inside the doors, standing rigidly at attention.

"Lady Sapphire, gentlemen, I present His Majesty, Hiram Cornelias the Third," he said as they entered. He turned sharply to face into the room. "The crystal bearers, Your Majesty."

"Thank you," the king said. "You are dismissed."

The guard bowed and left the room, shutting the doors with a clang.

King Hiram, a fit man who did not look his fifty years, sat on a handsome throne toward the rear of the lavishly decorated, sunlit chamber. An identical throne stood beside his, but it was empty. He surveyed the companions as they approached, and there was a strained weariness in his eyes. He held a sealed scroll in one hand.

"Welcome, travelers," he said, the weariness in his gaze reflected in his voice. "And welcome again, Sapphire; we did not expect to see you back so soon."

Cen and Estel exchanged surprised looks, but they said nothing.

"I didn't expect to _be_ back so soon, Your Majesty," Sapphire said, making a brief curtsy. "But, as you know…"

"Yes, my guard informed me." Hiram sat up straighter. "May I see the crystals?"

The four companions drew forth their shards of crystal, Rath again doing so a bit slower than the others. Hiram's eyes widened, and he got to his feet.

"It's just as Lukahn's prophecy foretold. So…you are the Warriors of Light…" A hopeful gleam appeared in his eyes. "Thank the gods. We have been praying for your arrival, Warriors. It seems you are the only ones who will be able to help us."

"Could you perhaps explain what is happening, Your Majesty?" Rath said, stepping forward and tucking his shard back into his pocket. "Cornelia looks as though it is preparing for war without any discernible cause for such an act."

Hiram shook his head and lowered himself back to his throne. "It is not an act of war. It is an act of desperation." The weariness returned to his eyes. "My daughter, Sarah, has been abducted."

Sapphire gasped. "_Abducted_? When? By whom?"

"It was less than a week ago," Hiram said. "And the act was perpetrated by one of my own knights, no less: Sir Garland."

"Sir Garland?" Sapphire looked ever more shocked. "But…why would he do such a thing? I had heard that he was a good man."

Hiram shook his head. "We do not understand it either. He had recently returned from a mission, slaying a Fallen dragon that had appeared in the mountains to our north. He was very badly wounded, and after our healers had tended to him, they confined him to bed so he could more fully recover. But, the very night after his return—" He broke off, choked by emotion. After taking a moment to collect himself, he spoke again. "Many good men were slain that night, falling as they attempted to get Sarah to safety; Garland hewed them down without mercy. It was as though he had lost his mind."

"Your Majesty, I am so sorry this has happened," Sapphire said, looking nearly as upset as the king himself. "If there's anything we can do to help in finding Sarah, we would be more than willing."

An expression of pure relief came over King Hiram's features. "Thank you. I assure you, you will have the everlasting gratitude of myself and all of Cornelia."

"I must confess some continued confusion, Your Majesty," Rath said, not looking entirely pleased by these proceedings. "You claim we, as the Warriors of Light, are the only ones capable of rescuing your daughter, yet you have given no reason for this assumption. I mean you no disrespect, Your Majesty, but I am curious as to how you came to this conclusion."

Hiram looked Rath over appraisingly, not in condescension but in curiosity. "What is your name, young man?"

"Rath, Your Majesty."

"Rath." Hiram nodded. "We knew that your assistance would be needed because of something Garland said before he vanished with Sarah: that we could send all our forces for him, but he would slay them all unless he could treat with me personally…or with the Warriors of Light. He swore to kill anyone else who approached."

Rath's eyes narrowed. "A peculiar demand."

"Indeed. And as it is not a viable possibility for me to go myself, our only hope was that you, the Warriors, would arrive."

Cen and Estel both looked very confused.

"I don't get it," Estel said, frowning. "What could we even do? It looks like you're gonna use force anyway, and it's not like he really _could_ kill every guy in the army, right? Er, Your Majesty," he added quickly.

Hiram shook his head. "He certainly could not do so alone, though he is the finest swordsman this kingdom has ever seen. Unfortunately, he has taken refuge in the Chaos Shrine; that place has never been well understood, and there's no telling what purposes he could put its power to. There has already been an outbreak of undead in the area, and the goblins have been more active than I have ever seen them. If Garland has rallied them to be his personal army…"

"An unpleasant possibility, I agree, Your Majesty," Rath said. "Yet I was under the impression the Cornelian Army would be more than a match for any number of goblins or undead."

"That may or may not ultimately be the case," Hiram replied. "We have no idea what other forces Garland may have at his command, what part the Shrine may play, or…" He hesitated, a pained look in his eyes. "…or if he will slay my daughter if faced with a direct assault. We are preparing our forces to defend the outlying towns, but approaching Garland himself is something we dare not do."

"But Garland did say he would speak with us?" Sapphire asked.

The king nodded. "That was his claim."

"Then we'll do so at once, Your Majesty," Sapphire said firmly. "We'll do everything we can to bring Sarah back."

Relief washed over Hiram's face again. "Again, I thank you. I promise you, you will be well rewarded upon your return." He rose from his throne and approached Sapphire, handing her the scroll he had been holding. "When you have found Sarah, use this to return here immediately."

Sapphire accepted the scroll and nodded. "We will. Thank you, Your Majesty."

King Hiram dismissed them and returned to his throne, apparently lost in thought about the renewed possibility of his daughter's return. Sapphire curtsied, and Rath, Cen, and Estel bowed before they all left the chamber, leaving the king to his thoughts.

"That was far from productive," Rath said, dropping his respectful manner as soon as the doors clanged shut behind him. His eyes narrowed as he rounded on Sapphire. "May I ask why you felt the need to embroil us in an entirely unrelated conflict when our time _must_ be better utilized?"

Sapphire stammered, flustering under Rath's intense stare. Before she could manage a proper answer, Estel cut in.

"Lay off, Rath. Like you said before, it's not like we can get anywhere from here right now anyway. Might as well keep busy, huh?" He shrugged and gave a wry smile. "And hey, we're heroes now. Rescuin' princesses is the kind of thing heroes do."

Rath gave Estel a withering look, then turned and swept off down the hall toward the stairs. The others exchanged glances and followed him.

"Perhaps," Rath said, not looking back at the other three companions as he walked, "Sapphire could at least enlighten us as to why she is apparently so well-known here, and why she has such knowledge of the people involved in this…distraction." He said this last word with unmistakable disdain.

There was a slight pause, in which Estel and Cen watched Sapphire curiously.

"I used to live here," Sapphire said at last. "Not here in the castle, I mean, but… I lived nearby. And my father…he used to be the captain of the guard."

Estel blinked in surprise. "No kidding?"

Sapphire shook her head.

"Wow," Estel said. "No wonder the king knows you."

The group began to descend the stairs, and Sapphire spoke again.

"Sarah and I were friends when we were young, and we kept in touch even after my family and I left." She shook her head. "She always spoke of Garland as being a kind, noble man, and she mentioned being very fond of him. I can't imagine why he would do something like this; it doesn't seem like him at all."

"Maybe fightin' that dragon made him go weird in the head," Estel suggested. "I've heard of that happenin' to guys comin' back from wars; something about the battles messes with how they think."

"So we are doing little more than going to negotiate with a madman," Rath said, sounding, if possible, even more disgusted. "Yes, I can certainly think of no better ways to spend our time."

"Not to butt in," Cen said, frowning, "but am I the only one worried about this Garland guy being the best swordsman in all of Cornelia, ever? If he's a few arrows short of a quiver, he might just attack as soon as we get there, which would be _bad_."

"He won't attack," Sapphire said, though she sounded a bit uncertain. "He said specifically that he would talk to us."

"Which makes all _kinds_ of sense," Estel said with slight sarcasm. "Guy's outta his head. Not that we shouldn't go help and all that," he added quickly, glancing at Sapphire. "Just, y'know. It's kinda stupid that one crackpot is causin' all this trouble."

They came to the bottom of the stairs, and Rath stopped abruptly, causing the other three to nearly walk into him. He turned back to look at them and started to say something, but was interrupted by a disturbance down one of the long corridors which led off from the entrance hall.

A blonde little girl, about eight years old and finely dressed, was in the midst of a fit of distress. She wailed and sobbed as a full-figured woman tried to console her.

"There now, my lady, please don't agitate yourself so. Your father is doing his very best to make everything well again."

The girl just continued to weep uncontrollably. "M-my sister! I w-want my _sister_!"

Still attempting to offer reassurances, the woman gathered the girl into her arms and carried her into a nearby chamber. The sobbing became muffled as the door of the chamber closed.

Sapphire put her hand to her mouth, dismayed. "Oh, the poor little thing…"

"Who is it?" Estel asked.

"Sarah's little sister, Ana. The two of them are very close; I can't imagine how awful this is for her."

Estel nodded slowly, then he looked at Rath. "So, you were sayin' something?"

Rath did not answer at once; he was staring off down the corridor with apparent dispassion. After a moment, he turned back to Estel and the others.

"We will collect our things from the inn and leave at once. As little regard as I have for this task, it seems we have been given no choice but to complete it." He nodded rather condescendingly to Sapphire, acknowledging her hand in this. "The Chaos Shrine is no short distance from here, but if we proceed swiftly the journey should take scarcely over one week." He turned and began walking along the hall toward the doors, the others following him more slowly.

"Where _is_ this Chaos Shrine place?" Estel asked Sapphire as they emerged into the sunlit courtyard.

Sapphire stared down at her feet as she walked, her expression troubled. "To the north-west. It's…Rath's right, we shouldn't take too long to reach it."

The group exited the castle grounds and reentered the city. More people were about now, making their way through the city on errands. Rath seemed to take offense at the appearance of so many other people; he quickened his pace, very nearly leaving the others behind, as they reached the town square where they had stopped earlier and which now bustled with activity.

Sapphire hurried forward to walk beside him.

"I know you're angry," she said, watching him with slight unease, "and that this just looks like a distraction to you, but it really is important. I mean, I know how important our other task is, but—"

"You need not explain yourself to me," Rath interrupted, now more concentrated on avoiding people than on being displeased with the situation. He veered aside to sidestep a passing group. "I understand the reasoning behind your decision even if I dislike the timing."

Sapphire fell back a few paces, looking surprised. "Oh. Well, thank you, I suppose…"

Finally, the group reached the inn's front yard, and it was only then that they realized Estel was missing.

Rath's annoyance returned full force.

"This is insufferable," he said through gritted teeth. "One would think he had not heard any of what was said concerning the necessity of the assignment."

Cen scowled. "How do you figure you can get annoyed about getting held up when you don't even want to go do this in the first place?"

Rath turned his irritated gaze to Cen. "It seems you also are incapable of listening. We are obligated to complete this task and should therefore attempt to do so swiftly. What I think of matters is inconsequential; as this is, as I said, a task to which we have been bound…" He shot a look at Sapphire, who was scanning the street for Estel and did not notice. "…I do not see how further complaints will be at all beneficial."

Cen did not reply at once, torn between anger at Rath's tone and intense thought as he tried to work out Rath's explanation.

"Fine," he said at last. "Whatever. Let's just go find Estel and then get our stuff and get out of here."

"We will collect our possessions first," Rath said, and he turned and went into the inn before Cen could argue the point.

They left the inn only a few minutes later, bearing their belongings and Cen carrying Estel's in addition to his own. They then started back toward the town square, looking around for some glimpse of their wayward companion.

It was not long, fortunately, before they finally spotted him trotting through the crowd in their general direction. He carried two sheathed rapiers and had another small leather pouch hanging from his wrist by a cord. He saw his companions, waved at them, and, increasing his pace, turned to walk directly toward them, looking so pleased with himself that Rath was immediately suspicious.

"What have you done now?" he said as soon as Estel was within earshot.

Estel apparently did not intend to let Rath's foul mood rub off on him. He just shook his head in mock-indignation. "A real cheerful one, you are." He turned to Cen and held one of the rapiers out to him. "Yeah, I know, toothpicks, egos, whatever. Just take it, it's better'n nothing."

Cen sighed in resignation, then accepted the rapier Estel offered him.

"And…" Estel removed the pouch from his wrist and tossed it to Cen. "The bail money back, plus a bit. That's gotta cheer you up a little, right?"

Cen caught the pouch with one hand. "Thanks, Estel."

Estel grinned. "No problem."

"And to whom did those items belong before you acquired them?" Rath asked, his tone positively scathing by now.

"The swords belonged to the shop and the money belonged to a guy I bumped into on my way out," Estel said promptly, not seeming the least bit abashed. Sapphire stared at him with great confusion and irritation.

Estel blinked at her. "What?"

"You…I can't believe you! Do you really think what you're doing isn't wrong?"

Estel shrugged. "I just wanted to pay Cen back. Hey, and at least I didn't—"

A shout suddenly rang out across the square: "There you are, you scrawny little whelp! Guards! _Guards_!"

The muscular blacksmith had just entered the square and now charged, flat-footed, toward Estel. Guards began to converge on the scene as well as the man started shouting accusations of thievery.

Estel just lifted his gaze skyward and sighed. "At least I didn't get caught," he muttered under his breath before looking back at the others and flashing a quick grin. "See you guys outside!" He ducked through the crowd and sprinted off down a side street, the blacksmith and guards in pursuit.

Sapphire and Rath watched him disappear from sight with confusion and annoyance, respectively. Cen, however, just sighed in resignation and shook his head.

"Well, at least we were on our way out anyway," he said. "Come on, let's go. He'll meet us outside the gates somewhere."

"But…" Sapphire turned her confused gaze to Cen. "Why does he keep stealing things like that? He _must_ know that it's not right, and that he'd get in trouble with so many guards around."

"You'd think so," Cen said, starting off down the street toward the south gate. "He doesn't care, though, just so long as they don't catch him."

Sapphire started after him, Rath a few paces behind and grumbling to himself.

"But why?" Sapphire asked. "I can't believe that he really doesn't care that it's wrong to steal or…or that you aren't bothered by what he's doing."

"I'm used to it," Cen said, shrugging. "The best I can figure, he really thinks he's doing me—or all of us now—a favor by getting things quicker than we could 'the normal way'. It's hard to stay mad at him when he has that kind of reason for what he's doing."

Sapphire did not look convinced. "That doesn't mean you can't tell him to stop, or make him return what he's taken."

"What?" Cen stared at Sapphire as though she had lost her mind. "Make him take it back? You're kidding, right?"

Sapphire frowned. "No, of course not. He should have to return the things he's stolen. He won't learn any better, otherwise."

Cen gave a humorless laugh. "Yeah, you just try to tell him that."

"I hardly think it appropriate to so unerringly accommodate his questionable ethics," Rath said, ceasing his muttering to join the discussion. "Sapphire is correct; not only are such actions unlawful and immoral, but they now also cast a less than favorable light on our group, which is certainly something we do not need."

"Exactly," Sapphire said. She glanced back at Rath and smiled. "Thank you."

"However," Rath added, not acknowledging Sapphire's thanks, "I also believe this is an inopportune time for him to begin acquiring a sense of morals. Were he to turn himself in, he would be imprisoned, thus necessitating yet another diversion as we retrieve him. As I have been stressing…" He narrowed his eyes. "…delays are _not_ something to be tolerated. We have far more important things to attend to than collecting one of our number from prison."

"Well, I…" Sapphire hesitated, then sighed. "Yes, I suppose that's a good point. Just…let's just try to keep him from doing things like this later, all right?"

Cen, who had been frowning while he tried to work out who exactly Rath was agreeing with, shook his head and shrugged at this. "We can try, but you shouldn't get your hopes up. Come on, let's hurry out of here."

It was not far to the south gate, which Cen guessed was nearest to where Estel would try to scale the wall to make his escape. Once outside the city, the group turned west, staying parallel with the wall. Cen and Sapphire both scanned the wall top for some sign of Estel, but Rath just leaned against a nearby tree, his arms folded obstinately across his chest and his eyes narrowed. For quite some time, the only figures along the top of the wall were the occasional pair of guards on lookout, but finally there came the sound of a commotion just beyond the wall: scuffling, crashes, and shouts. The wall top guards looked down to see what was going on, and the three companions outside looked up, listening as Estel's voice rose above those of his pursuers:

"I said _leggo_, you—whoa!"

There was a resounding crunch and a shout of rage, then the sound of old wood creaking and splintering as Estel began climbing up some ramshackle structure. The shouts of the guards and blacksmith grew louder as Estel jumped from his perch to the top of the broad stone wall. He landed on all fours, panting, but did not get much of a reprieve; two of the guards on the wall converged on Estel as he began to rise. He looked from side to side, surprised to find himself cornered, and scrambled onto the parapet, ready to jump. One guard managed to grab him by the sleeve before he could move; the other caught him by the wrist and pulled him off the parapet, and a fierce scuffle ensued.

"Gerrof me, you sons of—ow! _Ow_!" Estel yelped in pain as one guard tried to twist his arm up behind his back and immobilize him. He squirmed and thrashed, struggling to pull his arms free, and managed to land a well-placed kick; the second guard released his wrist at once and crumpled down with a groan.

The first guard was not so easy to get rid of. He kept a tight hold on Estel's sleeve and tried to get his other arm around Estel's neck in a choke-hold. Estel twisted out of the way, trying to kick again but missing. He gave a vicious tug, and his sleeve ripped free at the shoulder, the sudden lack of resistance sending both Estel and the guard tumbling backward. Estel recovered first and made another break for the parapet; he was half-over when the guard caught him again, this time by the wrist. Estel jerked away, the guard's grip slipped, and Estel, unable to correct his balance, fell from the wall and hit the ground with an unpleasant thud, only a short distance from where Cen, Sapphire, and Rath stood.

Cen was at Estel's side almost immediately, though he looked more exasperated than concerned. "Are you okay?"

Estel, having had the breath knocked out of him, could not answer beyond coughing and nodding.

"Good," Cen said, "because we need to get out of here. Those guards aren't going to give up quite yet."

He hauled Estel up and started off away from the wall as fast as he could, Rath and Sapphire close behind. The minor alarm continued on the wall top behind them.

"Sorry!" Estel yelled back to the guards once he could breathe again. "Sorry about that! It's just that we're in a real hurry to rescue the princess!"

"All right, that's enough," Cen muttered.

Soon, the group was safely hidden in the ring of forest that surrounded Cornelia City. As soon as they could no longer hear the shouting of the guards, they came to a halt, and Cen rounded on Estel.

"That was too close."

"No kiddin'," Estel said, slumping against a tree and wincing. "Urg. Ain't gonna be able to sit down for a week…"

Cen looked decidedly unsympathetic. "Well, no one _told_ you to go get these rapiers. It's—"

"My own fault," Estel finished. "Yeah, I know. Hey, least I got away, though. And you've got a sword now. That's good, right?"

Cen sighed and nodded, conceding the point. "Yeah, it is. Thanks, Estel." He paused, shooting a knowing look at Sapphire, then added, "You know, Sapphire figures I should make you return all this."

"_Huh_?" Estel stared at Sapphire, looking as dismayed as if she had just walked up and stabbed him. "What? Why? I was just tryin' to help."

Sapphire looked quite taken aback by how truly wounded Estel sounded, and any further reprimands faded away before they could leave her mouth.

"I just…I just meant that you need to learn that you can't keep doing things like this. It's very…" She hesitated. "…thoughtful of you to want to help, but…could you please try to stop helping like _this_?"

Estel nodded at once, looking relieved. "Yeah, sure."

"Thank you," Sapphire said. She attempted to look reproving, but the expression left something to be desired. Finally, she gave it up and shook her head. "That was all really dangerous, you know. Are you sure you're not hurt?"

Estel looked himself over; he was a bit dirty and scraped, but otherwise unharmed. "Think I'm okay. Ah, dammit…" He finally noticed he was missing a sleeve. He scowled over this for a moment, then he drew a short dagger from his belt and cut away his other sleeve, leaving both arms bare. "That's better."

Cen rolled his eyes and held out Estel's pack. "Here's your stuff."

"Thanks." Estel accepted the proffered pack and slung it over his shoulder, then he looked around at the others. "Okay. Chaos Shrine now, right?"

Rath, who had been ignoring this exchange, looked up at this. "Ah, you finally remember," he said, no doubt sneering beneath his hat. "This way."

He started off through the trees. Sapphire followed him at once, leaving Cen and Estel to bring up the rear.

"Should we, er, tell 'em we won't really be able to stop at any of the towns on the way?" Estel muttered, glancing uncertainly at Cen.

Cen looked ahead at Rath storming through the trees and at Sapphire glancing back at them with confusion and some concern, then he shook his head.

"We'll deal with that when we get to it."


	3. Amateur Heroics

**Chapter 3: Amateur Heroics**

"Estel. Hey, Estel, wake up."

Estel groaned and opened one eye a crack. He barely registered that it was early morning, the sky cloudless and only the topmost edge of the sun peering over the forest to the east. He started to give a sharp reply to whoever had woken him, but stopped short as he opened both his eyes and realized he was face to face with a human skull.

"Come on," the skull said, jaws clacking. "It's time to get up."

With a shout, Estel recoiled, falling out of his bedroll and scrambling for his dagger. He stopped, however, breathing hard, as he saw Cen, laughing and sitting cross-legged on the ground with the skull over his hand like a macabre puppet. Estel scowled.

"Cen!"

"What?" Cen said, feigning innocence for a moment before grinning. "Oh, come on, that was funny."

"Bloody _wasn't_," Estel muttered, clutching his chest.

Cen smirked. "Having a sense of humor failure? Calm down, it's just a skull." He tossed the skull aside, and it landed with a pile of bones: the remains of an animate skeleton that had wandered too close to the camp earlier. That brief encounter had been the sole interesting event that had happened during their four days of travel.

Estel shot another scowl at Cen, then shook his head and started rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Where're the others?"

"Sapphire's up washing at that little waterfall, and I think Rath just left so he could eat without having to look at us."

Estel began to say something else, but was interrupted as Sapphire rushed out from around the low ridge of cliffs that screened the western side of the campsite. She had the hood of her robes pushed back and her long braid hanging loose, and the edges of her sleeves were damp.

"What happened?" she asked, looking alarmed. "I heard someone yell."

Estel pointed an accusatory finger at Cen. "His fault. Thought it'd be funny to wake me up by stickin' a skull right in my face."

Sapphire blinked, looked at the pile of bones, then turned to Cen and frowned. "That's not funny. You shouldn't scare people like that."

"Exactly," Estel said, looking vindicated. "Thank you."

"Hey, sometimes things like that are the only way to wake this guy up." Cen jerked a thumb at Estel, then got to his feet. "Okay, let's get ready to go. We don't want Rath to have to _scold_ us again when he gets back." There was definite sarcasm in his voice as he said this.

"He _is_ back." Rath, his eyes narrowed beneath the brim of his hat, had just returned from wherever he had breakfasted and now stood at the edge of camp. "Gather your things. We are leaving." He turned away from them to fetch his own ragged pack and his staff.

Cen and Estel exchanged a look, but they and Sapphire still did as they were told. Soon the group was underway again, continuing north toward the Chaos Shrine.

Their path that day led them through a boggy, lightly forested area far from even the most outlying Cornelian towns. Fortunately, something that resembled a solid path meandered among the pools, straggly trees, and reed-beds, so the companions were able to make good progress. The only impediment, if it could even be called that, came from the swarms of biting insects that plagued the marsh. Estel seemed to find this nearly unbearable, however.

"And it's just me, too!" he said, swatting at the humming clouds of gnats and mosquitoes. "Why're they leavin' you all alone?"

"Are complaints the only phrases capable of escaping your mouth?" Rath snapped, shooting a scathing look back at him. "Unless you can prove otherwise, I suggest you be silent." He turned his gaze forward again and increased his pace.

Cen rolled his eyes at this, while Estel scowled and did a silent, mocking imitation of Rath's chastisements behind the mage's back. Sapphire, on the other hand, looked confused. As Rath stormed on ahead of the group, she frowned and hurried forward to walk beside him.

"What's the matter, Rath?"

Rath shot a look at her out of the corner of his eye. "Do not tell me _you_ did not find his prattle supremely irritating."

"I…he's just tired, that's all." Sapphire's iron-shod staff thudded along with Rath's battered one as she quickened her pace to keep up with him. She hesitated before speaking again. "Why don't you ever want to talk with us?"

"I speak when there is sufficient need."

"But—"

Sapphire broke off as Rath came to an abrupt halt, looking from side to side with narrowed eyes. She, Cen, and Estel watched him curiously.

"What's up?" Estel asked.

"Did I not already tell you to be silent?" Rath snapped. "Listen."

The group fell quiet. At first they heard nothing. Then, somewhere among the trees in the distance on both sides of the path, there came faint outbursts of high-pitched chattering and whistling. Farther away and even fainter were the sounds of wolves howling.

Estel blinked, his eyes widening. "Wha—"

"Goblins," Rath said, his hand tightening on his staff. "We have been far too obvious in our movements."

There came a sudden, much louder explosion of sound and movement in the high reeds that bordered the path. Estel yelped and drew his rapier as eight goblins, chittering battle cries in their high voices, burst from the reeds. Cen drew his rapier as well.

"Stay out of the way!" he ordered Rath and Sapphire. "We'll handle this."

Staying out of the way, however, was not an option; the goblins had the group surrounded. Cen and Estel moved to protect Rath and Sapphire, just as the horde of imps fell on the group.

Estel, more by accident than design, stuck his rapier through the chest of the nearest imp, the blow intensified by the creature's momentum. He jerked the blade free and slashed at another goblin, leaving a long cut across its neck and chest but not killing it. The injured goblin squealed in pain and rage and charged at him, but he just drew his dagger and plunged it into the goblin's throat. The imp dropped at once.

Cen kept four goblins at bay with wide, erratic swings of his rapier but scored only minor wounds. The creatures could not draw near enough to land a hit, but they soon found a solution to this: instead of charging, they flung their short, crude knives at Cen. One narrowly missed his shoulder and spun off into the reeds, but another grazed his arm, and two struck his thigh with unpleasant, wet thuds. Cen dropped to one knee with a cry, but this did not stop him from drawing his own knife and jamming it into the stomach of one of the goblins as they charged past him. The goblin gurgled and fell.

The three goblins now bore down on Rath and Sapphire. Sapphire took a step back in alarm, clutching her staff to her chest, but Rath looked calm and almost bored. The first goblin to draw near him caught the end of his staff in its face with a crunch, and it fell, dark blood dripping from its smashed features. The other two imps tried to flank Rath, but he spun his staff to the side, striking one in the head and knocking it to the ground. It got to its feet again, but unsteadily, clearly dazed.

The two goblins facing Estel attacked furiously, scoring his arms with shallow, oozing cuts. Estel aimed a kick at the nearest goblin, forcing it back, before turning his attention to the second one. It dived at him with a shrill cry, but as soon as it neared him he sliced its throat open with a flick of his rapier. The remaining goblin ran at him again and met an identical fate.

Rath ignored the dazed goblin, and as the other charged at him, he stopped it by slamming the tip of his staff into its stomach. Before it could recover, Rath lifted his hand and began muttering under his breath. Flames appeared, licking around his fingers, then a stream of fire shot from his palm and engulfed the creature; it shrieked and dropped to the ground, blackened and smoking. Rath looked away from this, and, almost as an afterthought, swung his staff back again and knocked the dazed imp into one of the deep pools bordering the path.

There was a rather unsettling silence.

Rath raised an eyebrow at Cen. "_You_ will handle this?"

Angry color rose in Cen's face. "Shut up! It's not my fault, I—"

A cry from Sapphire interrupted him; she had caught sight of the knives stuck in his leg. She hurried over and knelt down beside him to examine the wounds.

"Oh, Cen… Here, let me fix this."

With a grimace, she pulled out the knives, then quickly pressed her hands over the wounds, murmuring under her breath. Glimmering blue-green light flowed from her hands and over Cen's leg. When she removed her hands, the knife wounds were completely healed.

Cen, though still fuming over Rath's gibe, gave Sapphire a grateful nod as he got to his feet. "Thanks."

Sapphire smiled a little. "You're welcome." She stood and turned to Estel, taking half a step toward him. "Are you…?"

"Just fine," Estel said, beaming at her.

His forearms still bled a great deal, actually, but this seemed not to bother him. He withdrew a small blue bottle—a healing potion—from his pack and poured the contents over his arms. The watery green liquid frothed and steamed as it came in contact with the wounds, making Estel wince, but when he wiped the residue away with his bandana, the cuts were gone. He looked around at the small battlefield as he rolled the square of cloth back up and retied it around his head.

"Huh. I figured it'd be something worse'n that."

"It will be, if we do not move on at once," Rath said.

Indeed, the distant chattering and howling had not diminished; far more goblins, and worse, yet lurked in the swamp. Not waiting for the others to reply, Rath started off down the path again. Sapphire sighed as she hurried to catch up with him. Estel gave Cen a bolstering sort of look as they fell into step behind the two mages.

Several more attacks occurred during the day, by both goblins and squads of animate skeletons like the one Cen had dispatched previously. Cen fared no better in these fights; it was painfully obvious he had very little skill with a rapier. Admittedly, Estel was hardly skilled himself, but his agility made up for it, letting him attack more swiftly and evade retaliating blows. Sapphire obligingly healed any damage done, while Rath stood to the side, impatient to get underway again.

Fortunately, the group managed to pass through the marsh by the end of the day, so they did not have to camp in the pest-ridden place. They found a clearing for this just off the path, partly in the shade of a scrubby patch of forest. Rath started the campfire, the only thing he ever did to prepare camp, with a muttered word and a wave of his hand, then he settled down with a spellbook and began to read. Estel set about trying to make something edible out of their supplies, pointedly refusing Cen's offers of assistance. Sapphire unrolled her sleeping bag—a much fancier affair than the men's blanket bedrolls—and set her pack on top of it, then, after a moment's thought, she walked over and sat down beside Rath.

"What are you reading?" she asked.

Rath said nothing, just tilted the book so Sapphire could see the cover, which was embossed with a stylized lightning bolt. Sapphire nodded her comprehension, and Rath lowered the book back to his lap.

"You…fought really well today," Sapphire said after a moment, glancing hopefully at him.

Rath made an indistinct sound that may or may not have indicated thanks.

There was a pause. Estel finally sent Cen to go find water just to give him something to do, and he took the opportunity to work on the food without distraction. Sapphire watched him at this, then she turned back to watch Rath.

Rath shut his eyes in annoyance. "Must you stare at me like that?"

"I'm sorry," Sapphire said, her face coloring slightly. "I was…I just hoped you'd actually talk with us a little tonight."

Rath gave her a brief, appraising glance before turning back to his spellbook. "I do not see there is anything to discuss."

"There are plenty of things. I mean…" Sapphire paused, casting around for a viable subject. "All right. Estel and I both lived in Cornelia when we were younger, so…where are _you_ from?"

Rath's posture stiffened, and his eyes stopped moving across the page.

"Nowhere," he said.

Sapphire frowned, confused. "What do you—"

"I meant what I said," Rath interrupted sharply. "Now, if you do not mind, I am trying to concentrate." He began reading again, ignoring Sapphire entirely.

Sapphire looked truly baffled now, her brow furrowed. She looked over at Estel, and he returned her glance with a shrug and rolled his eyes. Sapphire sighed and shook her head. She got to her feet and went to sit on her sleeping bag, leaving Rath by himself.

Just then, Cen returned, carrying his and Estel's refilled water bottles. Sapphire turned to him at once. "What about you, Cen? Where are you from?"

"Huh?" Cen blinked, looking a bit surprised. "Me? I'm from Crescent Lake, lived there nearly all my life. Why?"

"I was just curious. I mean, we'll be spending a lot of time together. We should at least try to get to know each other a little, right?"

Cen thought about this, then nodded and smiled. "Yeah, right."

Sapphire smiled back. "So, I guess you two have known each other for a while," she said, looking from Cen to Estel and back again. "You seem pretty close."

Estel grinned. "Yeah. 'S all Cen's fault. He lemme in his house when I turned up a few years back, and his parents felt bad for me and took me in. He hasn't been able to get rid of me since."

"He's like a bad gil," Cen said, grinning as he planted himself beside Estel and set the water bottles down. "He keeps turning up no matter what I do." He jabbed Estel with his elbow, but Estel just laughed.

"Aw, c'mon, Cen, you'd never really wanna get rid of me. Your life'd get boring without me around!"

Cen rolled his eyes with exaggerated exasperation, and Estel laughed again, this time joined by Sapphire giggling behind her hand. Estel looked encouraged by this and smiled at her.

"You have a nice laugh," he said.

"Oh. Um, thank you." Sapphire gave one of her polite, confused smiles. "So, that means you went to live in Crescent Lake after you left Cornelia, right?"

Estel shrugged. "Not straight away. We—me and Mom, I mean—were kinda here and there for a few years. Travelin', y'know."

"Ah." Sapphire nodded. "Oh, but…" She frowned a little. "Just you and your mother? What about your father, didn't he—"

"I don't have a father," Estel said, poking at the fire with a stick. "Or, well, I do, kinda have to, y'know, but I dunno who he is."

"Oh…"

There was a rather awkward pause as Estel turned his attention back to preparing the food and Sapphire frowned as she tried to absorb this new information. After a moment, Estel glanced up and, seeing Sapphire's dismayed expression, gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hey, don't look like that. It's no big deal, really. I mean, I never knew him, so it's not like I can miss him or anything. And I liked things just fine with just me and Mom there anyway."

It seemed this only dealt with one of several concerns Sapphire had, for she did not look much reassured. Before she could say anything further, however, Rath caused a slight distraction by slamming his book shut, getting to his feet, and stalking away from the group. Once he was at a sufficient distance, he sat down with his back to them and resumed reading.

Cen scowled over at him. "Oh, so sorry we disturbed you, _Your Highness_!"

Sapphire glanced at Rath with concern, then back at Cen. "Please don't be like that. I know he's…" She hesitated, trying to think of a polite description. "…not very friendly, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to be nice to him."

Cen frowned and shook his head. "It'd help if he didn't act like such an asshole knowitall. Because, you know, it's not like I wasn't _trying_ to hold up my side in those fights, but…" He gave a frustrated sigh and slouched down where he sat. Estel patted him on the shoulder.

"We know you're trying your best, Cen," Sapphire said. "It takes a lot of training to be really good with a rapier, just like with anything else." She smiled, trying to lighten the mood again. "And you're still definitely better than I would be; I can't fight at all!"

Estel blinked. "Not at all? Why—" He stopped, then shook his head. "Oh, yeah, right. There's some kinda white mage rule about not killin' stuff, huh?"

"Well, it's allowed if it's in self-defense or in defense of others," Sapphire explained, "and bladed weapons are frowned upon, but you're basically right. I just never bothered with that kind of training, though. It didn't seem to fit with what I was trying to accomplish by mastering my magic."

"Yeah, I can see how you'd think that," Cen said, nodding and looking slightly reassured. "You don't seem like the fighting type."

"That's okay, though," Estel said with a smile. "We'll just hafta protect you, and then you can heal us up after."

"Right," Sapphire agreed, smiling back.

Further discussion, however, was broken off as Estel's stomach gave a very loud growl. Estel blinked, then chuckled rather sheepishly as Cen looked amused and Sapphire giggled again.

"Aheh…well, let's eat, then," Estel said. He looked over at Rath. "Did you wanna actually eat with us for once, or what?"

Rath gave no reply. Estel rolled his eyes.

"Okay, fine. Let's dig in, guys; just remember to leave some food for Captain Cheerful over there."

* * *

The next three days of travel were much the same: following a narrow dirt track through a straggly patch of forest that almost consisted more of undergrowth than trees. The companions were frequently attacked as they proceeded, again by goblins and skeletons and once or twice by wild wolves. Still, the group pressed onward, and late in the afternoon of the third day—the eighth since they had left Cornelia—they emerged from the forest onto a yellow, grassy plain and saw a misshapen black lump sitting on the horizon ahead of them.

"Is that it?" Estel asked, squinting at the distant shape. "The Chaos Shrine?"

Sapphire nodded. "It must be."

The companions pressed onward, wading through the dry, knee-deep grass. The overcast sky above them began to darken with both the coming evening and the thickening of the clouds. In the distance, the occasional rumble of thunder could be heard. The smells of dirt, crushed grass, and rain hung heavily in the still, hot air.

Though the Shrine had once been an imposing structure, only a moldering ruin remained now. Every part of the building consisted of jet-black stone: smooth marble and sharp, gleaming obsidian. Tall, intricately carven obelisks bordered the massive front doorway, but the doors themselves had long since fallen from their hinges and rotted away, the only remnants the twisted scraps of metal lying on the yellow grass. The top of the walls were jagged and broken, and massive chunks of stone lay scattered around the building. The towers at the four corners of the Shrine were more intact, though they too bore much damage, and all were now different heights. Inside the doorway, only thick darkness could be seen.

"How awful," Sapphire murmured. "It looks like such a sad place."

"So, what do we do once we get inside?" Cen asked. "Split up and look for Garland and the princess?"

"We will _not_ separate," Rath said, his eyes narrowed as he surveyed the Shrine. "This is a dangerous place; we will be safer if we remain together."

"Let's at least go in," Estel said. "Y'know, have a look around."

Sapphire nodded, and she led the way into the gaping doorway. As soon as she set foot inside the dark entryway, however, she stopped with a sharp gasp.

"What is it?" Estel asked, hurrying forward.

"C-cold…" Sapphire shivered, and her breath rose in a mist before her face. "Why is it like this?"

None of the others could answer this question. They too stepped inside and halted abruptly at the sudden, piercing chill that pervaded the mildew-scented air of the Shrine. Just like the outside, the Shrine's interior consisted entirely of black marble and obsidian. Gaping holes marred the high ceiling, allowing the charcoal-grey clouds above to be seen, but the corridors leading left, right, and inward were only visible for a short distance before fading into inky blackness. From somewhere in the distance came the sound of dripping water.

Rath looked around with great suspicion.

"I anticipated a more…enthusiastic reception."

"Don't complain," Estel said, hugging his bare arms against the inexplicable cold.

Rath ignored this. He lifted one hand, and a small, red-orange ball of flames appeared over his palm, casting flickering light over the intersection in which the companions stood. His eyes, so light brown that they were nearly golden, reflected the firelight back as an eerie amber glow.

"It seems we now have a choice," he said. "We may either search along the perimeter, or we may proceed inward. Either way, it would be best to move as silently as possible to avoid attracting any unfriendly attention."

"What would be in the middle?" Cen asked.

"As this is a Shrine, I would anticipate an altar of some sort would stand at its center. That is possibly where Garland has closeted himself and the princess."

Cen blinked, looking confused and annoyed. "Then why is there even a choice? Of course we go straight in."

Rath waved his hand toward the inward path in a slightly sarcastic permissive gesture. Cen scowled and started down the column-lined passageway leading to the center of the Shrine, the other companions close behind him.

The passage came to an end at a pair of double-doors made of some dark, oily-looking metal the companions did not recognize. The metal was deeply engraved with angular runes and images, most of which depicted people dying unpleasant, messy deaths at the hands of monstrous, half-formed creatures. Sapphire shivered again, this time not just because of the cold.

"It's all wrong," she said, almost to herself. "This whole place feels wrong."

"An astute observation," Rath said dryly. "Now, if we may…"

Cen eased open the doors.

The torchlit chamber beyond was small, making the altar at the far wall appear all the more grandiose: a spherical, cloudy-black crystal set in an intricate casing of rune-etched gold. On a slab of rubble near one wall lay a young woman in a dirty, blue-green nightdress, her fair hair tumbled over her face, her hands and ankles bound with thick ropes: Princess Sarah. Beside her stood Garland, his back to the door. He was an imposing figure in his dark plate armor, an extravagant horned helm on his head. His long violet cloak hung limp behind him, and he did not seem to be aware that anyone had entered. He said something under his breath, appearing to address the unconscious princess at his feet. His voice was deep and silken.

"Ah, my dear, you have been so helpful to me. Soon, your father will realize he has no choice but to exchange his kingdom for your life. Cornelia will be mine…"

Cen and Sapphire looked appalled by this proclamation, but Estel snickered a bit, not paying attention.

"Nice helmet," he muttered. "What an idiot."

At this quiet sound, Garland spun around to stare at the door. His helm obscured his face so that only his eyes could be seen, seeming to glow red in the flickering torchlight. His eyes narrowed as they fell upon the companions.

"Hmph. Some of the king's lapdogs, I presume." His hand went to his sword.

"We are the Warriors of Light," Rath said coolly. "We received a message that you wished to speak with us."

The light in Garland's eyes flashed, and he lowered his hand. "So, the king did manage to find you, and has sent you here to rescue his beloved daughter." He looked down at the princess, her slender form half-curled. "She's such a pretty little thing, isn't she? Not that that had anything to do with my abduction of her." He turned back to the companions. "And what answer has the king sent in reply to my terms?"

Before Rath could reply, Sapphire stepped forward, a look of dismay on her face.

"Garland, what are you doing?" she asked, almost pleading. "Sarah has told me that you're a good man who would be willing to lay down his life for her and her family. Why have you turned on them?"

Garland gave her an icy look. "I've come to my senses. The royal family does not deserve to be protected. I have had my fill of their pompous antics and of the way they have weakened Cornelia. The hostilities with Duergar and the ridiculous civil war that spawned Pravoka as a sovereign state are both the doing of this foolish monarchy, and I think it's high time for the power in this kingdom to change hands."

Sapphire looked badly confused and hurt. "What are you talking about? The civil war was decades ago, and even though things are still difficult, the king and queen have done their best to deal with the troubles that arise. They are kind, competent rulers, and the people love them. I don't see how anything they did could force you to do something like this."

There was a pause as Garland looked Sapphire over from head to foot. He stepped forward, and Cen and Estel tensed as he did, anticipating an attack. Garland did not strike, however; he just took Sapphire's face in one gauntleted hand, turning it from side to side as he casually examined her features.

"You look familiar," he said. "Older, yes, but… Hm." The red light in his eyes flared. "You are Sir Joseph's daughter."

"Yes, I am," Sapphire said. She tried to look defiant, but the fear in her eyes was all too plain, and her hands trembled. "And I…he would be so ashamed of you for what you're doing here."

Garland laughed. "No doubt! Ah, my dear, you are as brainwashed as all the rest!" He shoved Sapphire away, and she fell to the icy stone floor with a thump and a quiet moan of pain.

Estel gave a shout of outrage and hurried to Sapphire's side, helping her to her feet. He glared up at Garland.

"Not on! You pull something like that again, Pointy, and we're takin' you back to Cornelia in pieces!"

Garland just laughed again, a deep, unsettling sound. "Oh, you will? Do you have any idea who you're dealing with? I could kill you where you stand without even trying, you arrogant little brat."

Estel only looked angrier at this, and the same look was echoed on Cen's face.

"Yeah, you keep tellin' yourself that," Estel said with a sneer. "I bet you couldn't even hit me."

"Estel, no, please," Sapphire whispered frantically. "We can't fight him; he's too strong and he's not in his right mind—"

"I would debate that last point," Garland said coldly. "But otherwise, she is quite correct. You should listen to her; apparently she's rather intelligent, even if she looks otherwise."

Sapphire gasped, looking as though she had just been slapped, and there was an outburst of angry protests from both Cen and Estel. Estel moved to stand between Sapphire and Garland, and he drew his rapier.

"You're really askin' for it, y'know that? We can take you out, knight or no damn knight!"

Garland raised an eyebrow in incredulous amusement. "You really think you have what it takes to cross swords with _me_? Very well…" He drew his sword, the blade long, broad, and gleaming.

A flicker of uncertainty appeared in Estel's eyes, and Cen looked downright alarmed as he drew his own blade; even Rath backed away a few paces. The two rapiers looked incredibly flimsy when compared with Garland's longsword. Garland's eyes narrowed in amusement as he adopted a fighting stance.

"Oh, this will be insultingly easy. I, Garland, will knock you all down!"

He lunged forward, swinging his sword down on Estel. Estel dodged just in time, jumping aside and pulling Sapphire with him. Leaving her out of harm's way, Estel charged forward, ducking under another stroke from Garland and whipping his rapier around to find the gaps in Garland's heavy armor. Garland just laughed and drove Estel backward with a wide sweep of his sword. Estel ducked and tumbled out of the way, jumping back to his feet once he was out of range.

Before Garland could do more than turn in pursuit, Cen joined the attack, coming at Garland from behind and slashing at the back of his neck. Garland swung around, and Cen jumped back to avoid the return strike, but the tip of the longsword struck him regardless, slicing through his leather armor and gouging his side. Cen stumbled and fell to the floor with a cry of pain, blood pouring from the wound and soaking his shirt. The color drained from his face as he struggled to stand back up.

Sapphire gasped and clapped her hands to her mouth.

"Cen!"

She tried to go to him, but Garland forced her back as he rounded on her, his eyes blazing and a manic laugh falling from his lips. He leveled his sword at her and she cringed away, pressing back against the slick wall, but before he could strike, Estel intervened, stabbing the unprotected back of Garland's knee and making him stumble. Garland's laughing ceased at once, and he snarled as he lunged around, trying to fell Estel as he had Cen. But Estel was too quick; he jumped nimbly out of the way, trying to lead Garland away from the others.

His distraction worked. Limping, Garland followed him, and as soon as the knight was out of the way, Sapphire ran forward and dropped down beside Cen, covering his wound with her hands and murmuring her Cure spell. Off to the side and safely clear of the fight, Rath began an incantation as well.

There was definite alarm in Estel's eyes as he darted and dodged out of Garland's reach, the heavy blade sometimes missing him by less than an inch. Garland, laughing again, feinted to the right, then brought his sword down hard; Estel barely corrected his balance in time, and the longsword left only a shallow cut on his forearm. He gritted his teeth and tried to move backward again, but instead he came up against a wall with a jerk, and his eyes widened: Garland had forced him back into a corner by the dark altar, leaving him no room to dodge or escape. Garland swung his sword back, ready to deliver a killing stroke, and Estel cried out and dropped to the ground, curling up with his arms protectively over his head.

But the blow never fell. With a noise like a gong, the end of Sapphire's staff collided solidly with the side of Garland's helmet. He dropped his sword with a clang and staggered sideways, clutching his hands to his head. Before Garland could recover, Cen—pale, bloodstained, but healed—charged bodily into him, driving him into the altar with a crash. The knight's head struck the crystal, the wound on his neck leaving a smear of blood across it as he slid to the floor. He started hauling himself to his feet, snarling in rage.

Rath finally stepped forward, hand extended. Glittering silver mist poured from his outstretched fingertips and swirled around Garland. Garland stumbled again as he inhaled this vapor, then he collapsed to the ground, fast asleep.

Estel got to his feet, breathing hard and looking suddenly incredulous. "'_Knock you all down_'? What the _hell_ kinda taunt is that?" He snorted. "Like we needed more proof the guy's scrambled…"

"You couldn't have done that sooner?" Cen asked Rath, frowning and rubbing his shoulder where it had slammed into Garland's armor. Not waiting for an answer, he shook his head and looked down at Garland. "At least this is done with, anyway."

Rath's eyes narrowed. "It is not done yet."

He began muttering another incantation, blue sparks flicking around his fingers. Threads of light formed around his hand as he lifted it again, and with a flash, a bolt of lightning shot from his palm and struck Garland's prone form. Amplified by the metal armor, the electricity sparked and crackled, making Garland jerk and twitch spasmodically. The magic subsided, and Garland groaned.

Sapphire watched this with horror, then gasped as Rath began preparing to cast the spell again.

"Rath, no! We've already defeated him; there's no need to kill him as well!"

Rath was not listening. He lifted his hand once more and shot another lightning bolt at Garland. This time, when the electricity faded, Garland did not move or make any sound. The stench of charred flesh began to fill the chamber.

Sapphire stared at Rath with disbelief. "Why…why did you do that?"

Rath rounded on her, glaring. "I was finishing our task. The man was clearly insane, and there was no knowing if he would persist in his attack once he woke. Should he have relented, which I sincerely doubt would have occured, upon our return to the castle the king would surely have ordered his execution for the crime he committed. Death was the only fate left to him."

Any retort Sapphire would have offered to this was cut short by a soft moan and a rustle of fabric.

Princess Sarah sat up and looked around with an expression of confusion and utmost shock, taking in the scene: Cen, his armor rent and his shirt drenched with blood, bending to pick up Garland's fallen longsword; Sapphire and Rath, halted in mid-debate; and Estel, crouching by Garland's smoking corpse and using his rapier to prod the knight's eyes through the holes in his helmet.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked in bewilderment, her voice hoarse. Her face was pale and dirty, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

Sapphire turned away from Rath and knelt down by Sarah. "We came to help," she said, giving a reassuring smile. "I couldn't let something like this happen to one of my good friends, could I?"

"Sapphire?" Sarah sat up a little more, her eyes widening in recognition and relief. "You…you came to rescue me?"

"Of course." Sapphire smiled again. "We came just as soon as your father told us about what happened."

Sarah tried to straighten up more, but the way her hands and feet were bound prevented her from balancing properly, and she slipped and fell back to the ground. At once, Rath moved over and crouched down beside her. He drew his knife and, with a few quick slashes, cut the ropes around her wrists and ankles. Sarah sat up again; Rath did not help her, but he did not leave her side either.

"Are you well enough to leave, Your Highness?"

"I don't know," Sarah said, pressing her shaking hand to her forehead. "I think so." With Sapphire's help, she was able to get to her feet. She looked around at the companions and smiled. "Thank you all so much. It was very noble of you to risk your lives to rescue me." She glanced down at Garland's body, then swiftly looked away, looking a little saddened and more than a little ill. "That is…that's the first time anyone has ever defeated Garland…"

Sapphire nodded. "I know."

Rath got to his feet. "We must be leaving. Sapphire, you have the scroll?"

"What? Oh, yes, of course." Sapphire removed the small roll of parchment from a pocket of her robes. She closed her hand around it, and the edges of the parchment began to glow.

"We will arrive at the castle momentarily, Your Highness," Rath said, then added, almost as an afterthought, "I believe your sister is most anxious to see you again."

Before Sarah could reply, the scroll in Sapphire's hand flashed, and the whole group vanished from the chamber, leaving Garland's body and the dark altar behind.

* * *

Only seconds later, there was another flash, and the group reappeared in the torchlit, pillared entrance hall of Castle Cornelia. For a moment there was silence as the guards on duty struggled to realize what had just happened, then a sudden outburst of talking filled the massive hall:

"Your Highness, you're back!"

"Thank the gods!"

"Someone go fetch the king and queen, now!"

Sarah looked quite overwhelmed by all the noise, the color draining from her face. She murmured quiet thanks to the guards for their concern, but she leaned heavily on Sapphire's arm.

After a moment, silence fell, triggered by the arrival of King Hiram and his wife, Queen Jayne. The guards parted to let them come forward. Hiram looked as though he could scarcely believe his eyes, and Jayne had her hands over her mouth.

"Sarah?" she said quietly.

Sarah looked up at her parents, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes.

"Mother! Father!"

She released Sapphire and flung herself into her mother's arms, weeping. Jayne hugged her close, and Hiram embraced them both.

"I was so frightened!" Sarah cried. "It was, it was so dark and cold, and he wouldn't tell me why he'd taken me away…"

"It's all right," Hiram said soothingly. "It's all over now."

"Sarah!"

Sarah's younger sister appeared in the hall, wearing a white nightdress and followed by her nanny. Sarah looked up and beamed through her tears as her sister ran to her and hugged her around the waist.

"Ana…" Sarah knelt down to hug her sister in return. "I heard you were very worried about me."

Ana nodded vigorously. "You shouldn't have gone. It was mean of him to take you away."

"Yes, it was."

Hiram turned to the Light Warriors, tears of gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you," he said. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. There is no way I will ever be able to repay you for what you have done."

"Repayment will not be necessary, Your Majesty," Rath said. He did not sound nearly as scathing and unpleasant as he usually did, and in spite of all the noise and the number of people packed around him, he had not narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "We are merely glad to have been able to return your daughter to you safely."

Sapphire looked quite surprised at Rath's words, and she stared at him with something like pleased incredulity.

"What of Garland?" Hiram asked.

"He's dead," Cen replied. "He almost took us down first, but…" He shrugged, looking down at his ruined armor and his torn and bloody shirt, picking at the gash a bit. "I guess we got lucky."

"Did he give any explanation for his actions?"

"He did," Rath said, "but there was no adequate reasoning behind it, Your Majesty. He claimed dissatisfaction with your rule, but the incidents he gave as examples happened decades ago and did little to support his malcontent. It was abundantly clear he was not in his right mind."

Hiram sighed. "As I thought." He shook his head. "I still can't understand…"

"We can't either, Your Majesty," Sapphire said quietly.

"Still…" Hiram looked around at the group, smiling. "I cannot, in good conscience, let your noble actions go unrewarded. You will be my guests here at the castle; nothing will be denied you while you are here. If there is anything you want, do not hesitate to ask." He waved over one of the guards. "Please escort these heroic young Warriors to the four finest quarters we have."

"Yes, sire." The guard bowed, then gestured for the companions to follow him out of the hall. They did so, but slowly, fatigue setting in as the day's exploits caught up with them.

Estel, walking beside Sapphire, nudged her with his elbow. "I thought you said you couldn't fight," he said, giving her a tired smile.

"I can't." Sapphire shook her head. "I was…I guess what I did was just instinct; I couldn't just stand there and let him kill you."

"And thanks very much for that. Nice to know I've got someone with such good aim watchin' out for me." Estel smiled and nudged her again, then fell silent as they continued on after the guard.


	4. Bridging the Gaps

**Chapter 4: Bridging the Gaps**

With the port destroyed and the bridge still undergoing repairs, it seemed the Light Warriors would be obliged to spend quite some time at Castle Cornelia before continuing on their journey. Cen, Estel, and Sapphire saw no problem with this, and if Rath had any complaints about the delay, he for once kept them to himself.

Rath spent a great deal of time in the library, researching information that might come in useful on the Light Warriors' journey. He generally took an entire table to himself, covering it with the books and scrolls he was studying. Often, he took notes on what he was reading, his handwriting small, neat, and angular. He sat in what was, for him, a relaxed posture: straight-backed and leaning forward slightly, his eyes narrowed in concentration rather than annoyance.

Sapphire, pleased by Rath's more amiable mood, made a particular effort to spend more time with him. Her studies consisted more of religious texts than secular ones, but instead of remaining in the castle chapel to read them, she preferred to sit with Rath in the library. On rare occasions, he would even move some of his books aside and allow her to share his table.

That was how they were seated one morning nearly two weeks after their return to Cornelia: across from one another at a large, round table in the center of the library. Outside, a winter storm brewed, fat raindrops plinking against the floor-to-ceiling windows. The only other sounds were the rustling of parchment and the scratching of Rath's charcoal pen as he took notes. Sapphire wore her usual red-trimmed white robes, but she had her hood pushed back, her long, red-blonde hair braided and pinned up to keep it out of the way. Rath looked just as he ever did in his worn blue robes, collar turned up and hat in place to hide his face, his eyes intent on his research.

Sapphire, however, was having trouble concentrating. She sighed, put down the scroll she had been studying, and stared past Rath at the rain pouring down outside, her chin in her hand.

"What is it?" Rath said, not looking up from his own text.

"Hm?"

"Something is bothering you."

Sapphire sighed again. "I feel bad."

"Well, obviously." Rath's voice was tinged with sarcasm.

Sapphire was silent for a moment. "I don't understand what happened," she said at last. "With Garland, I mean. I can't see how he could have just…changed so much, all because of having to slay a dragon."

"Dire circumstances are capable of doing strange things to a man," Rath said, setting aside one book and selecting another. "Some change for the better, while some change for the worse. The latter, obviously, is what happened in this case. I fail to see how that is cause for misunderstanding."

"I don't know. Maybe it's just me. I can't imagine what could have caused such a noble man to fall so far."

"Hm."

"I…still don't think he deserved to die, though. Not like he did."

Rath shut his eyes in annoyance.

"Must I explain my reasoning yet again to you?"

"I understand your reasoning," Sapphire said quickly. "But I still don't think death was the only option. If he really wasn't in his right mind, then he wasn't in control of his actions. It wasn't his fault. He could have just been locked up so he couldn't hurt anyone else."

Rath gave a frustrated exhalation and finally looked up from his papers.

"We have, previously and at some length, discussed this," he said. "I will not ask why you persist in yet again rousing the subject. I will not reiterate my previous arguments, as you seem determined to feel guilt for the situation regardless of any logic applied to it. I will, however, ask you a question: Why do you feel it necessary to defend the man who, without any sensible cause, abducted your good friend?"

Sapphire was quiet as she thought about this.

"Because he used to be a good man," she finally said. "He shouldn't have died like he did."

"He would have been executed had we returned him to the castle. I hardly think a public beheading any less ignominious than the demise he secured at our hands."

"I…I suppose that's true."

There was a pause. Rath, satisfied that Sapphire would not press the matter any further just then, went back to his studying. Sapphire looked back at her scroll, frowning, then turned to Rath again.

"Can I ask you something?"

"As your mouth seems to be in working order, I believe you will find you can."

Sapphire's face colored slightly. "_May_ I ask you something, I mean."

Rath glanced up at her, one thin eyebrow raised, then he turned back to his notes. "You may."

Sapphire hesitated, fiddling with the sleeves of her robes.

"Are you from Onrac?"

Rath's head snapped up, his shoulders stiffened, and his hand clenched so tightly that it broke his pen in two. His eyes narrowed.

"What made you think that?" he said, his voice taut.

"I…I just noticed you had a bit of an accent, that's all," Sapphire said, looking alarmed. "Why?"

"And you would recognize an Onracean accent?"

"I think so. I…there were a few immigrants from there that I met at my temple, and the way you speak…" She trailed off. "Rath, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Rath said through gritted teeth. He watched her coldly, his eyes still narrowed. "Do not speak of that to anyone."

"Why—"

There came a quiet knock at the library doors, and a moment later Princess Sarah entered. This was one of the few times any of the companions had seen her since their return from the Chaos Shrine; the ordeal had drained her, and she had been kept to her chambers so she could rest. She had recovered well and looked much healthier now.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked, stepping farther into the room. Her turquoise gown rustled as she walked, and her golden hair, done up in an elaborate set of curls beneath her tiara, bounced a little with each step.

The animosity vanished from Rath's eyes at once, and his shoulders relaxed just a bit. "Of course not. What do you need, Your Highness?"

Sapphire looked nearly as surprised at this as she had at Rath's reaction to her question, but she said nothing.

Sarah approached the table, drawing a chair over and seating herself to Sapphire's left. She looked over the piles of books and scrolls, then smiled. "It looks like you've been very busy. Is this all to help you prepare to fulfill the Prophecy?"

Sapphire nodded.

"That's a good idea," Sarah said. "I'd want to find out all I could if it was me."

"Our thoughts exactly," Sapphire said, smiling a little.

Sarah picked up a book from the table and leafed through it for a moment, then she looked over at Rath. "I believe I need to thank you, Rath."

Rath looked slightly surprised. "Why is that, Your Highness?"

"Ana has told me you've been spending time with her while I've recovered. I know she's appreciated it, but I'm afraid she's a little too shy to come tell you so herself." A faint blush appeared on Sarah's cheeks. "Truthfully, I think she's grown rather fond of you."

Sapphire frowned, looking puzzled and a bit uncertain. She started to say something, but Rath shot a quelling look at her, and she shut her mouth at once.

"I require no thanks, Your Highness," Rath said, turning back to the princess. "I simply did as I felt was necessary, given her prior distress regarding your absence."

"Yes, but you didn't _have_ to do anything." Sarah gave him a warm smile. "You're a very thoughtful man."

Rath looked back at his research and did not reply. He moved his hand as if to start writing but only then realized he had broken his pen. He looked down at the pieces in surprise; the splintered ends had scratched his palm, and the small cuts bled slightly.

"Ah. That is somewhat unfortunate."

He set aside the remains of the pen and began dabbing at the scratches with his sleeve. Sarah looked shocked.

"How could you have done that without noticing?" she asked. When Rath gave no answer, she continued, "Here, let me see." She held her hand out to him, gesturing for him to show her his palm.

Rath shook his head. "It is nothing, Your Highness," he said, sounding rather uncomfortable.

"Aw, go on, Rath. Let her kiss it better or something."

Rath, Sarah, and Sapphire all started and looked around to see Estel lounging in a heavily padded armchair a short distance away. He looked almost laughably out of place in the opulent room, in his torn, still sleeveless shirt and travelworn green trousers and vest. In one hand, he held a stack of small, blue-frosted cakes that he must have pilfered from the kitchens. He grinned, looking entirely too amused at having startled the others.

"Jumpy bunch, aren't you?"

"How long have you been sitting there?" Rath asked with forced calm.

Estel shrugged. "Couple minutes. Came in about when Sarah did. Me and Cen just found out something we figured you guys'd wanna know." He took a bite of one of his cakes.

"And what—"

Rath broke off abruptly and turned back to Sarah. Taking advantage of Estel's distraction, she had taken Rath's hand and was examining the cuts on it. As he turned to look at her, she drew a handkerchief from her pocket and started tying it around his hand like a bandage. The look in Rath's eyes was quite inscrutable as he watched Sarah do this, though his shoulders did stiffen again and he seemed to be breathing rather hard.

"That is unnecessary, Your Highness."

"I believe it _is_ necessary," Sarah said, giving him a small smile before focusing back on her work.

Rath said nothing. He seemed incapable of looking Sarah in the face or of looking at what she was doing; he instead stared down at his page of notes, his eyes narrowed slightly. His hand kept twitching, as though he wanted to pull it away but could not bring himself to do so.

Sapphire looked torn between unease and something almost like jealousy as she watched this exchange. After a moment, she pointedly turned to Estel.

"You said that you and Cen found out something?"

Estel nodded, though he did look thoroughly entertained by Rath's discomfort.

"Yeah. Me and him were comin' back from the kitchens, and just when we were goin' through the big entry hall, those soldiers that got sent up to the Shrine to…search or clean up or…" He trailed off, trying to remember the exact purpose of the expedition, then he shrugged and went on. "Or whatever the hell it was they'd went to do. Anyway, they came back. Know what they said they found?"

"What?"

"_Nothing_. Garland's body wasn't there."

Rath looked around so fast that his neck cracked. "_What_?"

"Yup. It was gone. All they found was the altar and a bunch of bats." Estel nodded knowledgably, then he finished off one of his cakes. "And the best part?" he said after he had swallowed. "They couldn't figure out how the hell it could've got anywhere. I mean, he hadn't got up and walked out on his own, and nothing had come in there and eaten him or anything, 'cause not even his armor was there. Weird, huh?" He started in on another cake.

"'Disturbing' would, I think, be a more accurate term," Rath said, eyes narrowed.

"Yes, that doesn't sound like a very good sign," Sapphire said. "Maybe…we ought to go back and see for ourselves?" She glanced at Rath to see if he approved.

Rath nodded. "This certainly merits further investigation."

Estel frowned in confusion. "Er, why? We already know he's gone. Why's it matter what happened to him?"

Rath gave Estel a dull look but did not dignify the question with a reply. He turned back to Sapphire. "It would be best to leave as soon as possible, so the site of the battle does not have time to alter much further."

"I can help arrange transportation for you, if you like," Sarah said. She still held Rath's hand, her own hands cupped almost protectively around it. "You'll be able to reach the Shrine and return more quickly if you have an escort and are on horseback."

"That _would_ be helpful," Sapphire said, nodding. "Thank you, Sarah."

Rath carefully extracted his hand from Sarah's grip and got to his feet. "We are most grateful for your offer, Your Highness. If you will excuse me, however, I believe I should alert Cen to our new course of action." He quickly left the room.

Sapphire and Sarah both watched him leave. Estel, catching sight of the expression on Sapphire's face, looked away in discomfort, instead finishing off his snack and staring out the rain-spattered windows. Only the quiet patter of the raindrops broke the sudden awkward silence.

* * *

"Wow." Cen stood in the doorway and looked around with a distinct lack of interest. "That's great. I can really see why we made the trip back here."

Rath shot him a very sour look, then went back to inspecting the chamber.

The companions' return to the Chaos Shrine had been much quicker this time around; Sarah's travel suggestions had been sound ones. The soldiers who had come along as escorts waited outside the Shrine, in fact staying as far away as the edge of the forest, as their horses had balked when brought too near the eerie building. Estel had commented that he did not blame them for this in the slightest.

Now, the companions stood in the Shrine's altar chamber, accompanied by a few bats fluttering around the walls. It was as the soldiers had said: Garland's body had vanished. In the time it had taken for the companions to arrive, however, a small portion of the ceiling had collapsed thanks to a violent winter storm, covering the floor in rubble; if anyone had entered or left the chamber, any signs that may have been left had been obliterated. This clearly bothered Sapphire, and Rath's concern manifested in a return of his usual grumpiness. Cen and Estel, however, had a hard time understanding why the two mages found this to be such a troublesome event.

"Okay, it's weird, but what's the big deal?" Estel asked, looking puzzled and leaning against the damp wall with his arms folded. His breath hung like a cloud in front of his face. "Maybe some undead got to him, so he's all zombie-fied and shufflin' around somewhere."

"Undead are not drawn to dead matter, only living flesh," Rath said. He was studying the floor with intense focus, particularly where Garland's body had lain before the altar. "There is no reason to think the corpse left of its own accord."

"You don't think…" Sapphire frowned and looked over at Rath. "Could Garland have faked his death? I mean, are you sure you…you killed him?"

Rath raised an eyebrow. "I find that insulting. My abilities are more than sufficient to kill one such as him."

Sapphire stammered in embarrassment, averting her gaze.

"It's okay," Estel said, shooting a quick scowl at Rath before giving Sapphire a reassuring look. "It's a good thought. If he was gonna pull that off, though, he'd've had to be a hell of an actor. 'Cause, y'know, I can't think of a whole lotta guys that'd be able to hold still while gettin' stabbed in the eyes." He shrugged.

Sapphire started to say something, then she stopped and nodded. "Right. I had forgotten about that."

"'S okay. Happens to everyone." Estel gave her another encouraging look, then turned back to Rath. "Didn't answer my question. Why's this such a big deal?"

"Because corpses do not habitually vanish from their resting places," Rath snapped, glaring. "Now, unless you have something meaningful to contribute to this investigation, I suggest you be silent."

Estel snorted and rolled his eyes, but he did stop talking. He wandered across the room, kicking small chunks of stone and rubble out of the way as he went, to stand beside Cen, who had not left the doorway.

"Well?" he said, glancing at Cen and raising an eyebrow.

"'Well' what?"

"You got that look again. What's goin' on?"

Cen shook his head. "This is stupid. He gets mad at us for causing 'distractions'…" He said this word in an imitation of Rath's usual sniffy tone. "…and then turns right around and drags us along on this, which has no point at all as far as I can figure." He rolled his eyes. "Remind me again why we let him be in charge?"

"'Cause he knows what the deal is with the whole prophecy-quest-thing that we're supposed to be doin'," Estel said, shrugging and shooing a bat away from his head. He watched the two mages as they searched through the fallen stone, frowning a bit at the way Sapphire blushed whenever Rath spoke to her.

"Damn," he muttered.

Cen glanced at Estel, then looked over at the others. After a moment, he smirked.

"Well, so much for that, then."

"Shut up," Estel grumbled, keeping his voice down. He shook his head. "I don't get it. He's an ass, and you can only see about this much of him." He held his hands up over his face so that only his muddy-green eyes were visible. "I mean, c'mon. What's even there to like?"

Cen shrugged. "Some girls like the 'dark and brooding' type, I guess."

"I brood. I can brood as good as anybody."

"'Brooding' and 'sulking' aren't really the same thing, you know."

"Shut up." Estel scowled and folded his arms, leaning against the doorframe and watching Rath and Sapphire as they continued their inspection of the chamber. "What's the deal with that hat of his, anyway? Doesn't he ever take the damn thing off?"

"Why would _I_ know?" Cen asked, giving Estel a look.

"I don't—_Hey_!"

One of the bats suddenly swooped down and snatched Estel's bandana right off his head. It fluttered away across the room with the cloth clutched in its tiny claws. Estel glared and started after it.

"Gimme that back!"

The bat managed to stay just out of his reach. It flew around Rath and Sapphire a couple of times and was joined by another bat, which also grabbed the bandana and tried to tug it away. The first bat emerged victorious from this brief scuffle, but it then promptly dropped the bandana on top of the altar.

Estel swatted the bats away as they dived for the bandana again. "Go away! Gah! Damn bugs!"

"Bats aren't bugs," Sapphire said absently.

Estel frowned and muttered something under his breath, reaching out to retrieve his bandana. He paused, however, when his hand was over the black crystal, his brow furrowed in sudden confusion.

The air around the crystal was wavering, almost like the air above hot coals. The distortions curved and flowed like water around Estel's hand, and he quickly snatched his bandana and moved away, looking unnerved. Before he could comment on this strange phenomenon, Rath spoke:

"We will return to the castle; it seems we will find no further answers here, and continuing to search would only be a wasted effort."

"You're giving up?" Sapphire asked, looking surprised.

Rath gave her a look. "I said nothing of the sort. I still find the disappearance of Garland to be suspicious. As nothing conclusive can be drawn from this location, however, I see no purpose in wasting further time here."

He turned and started to leave the room, but as he did, something white fell out of his sleeve and fluttered to the floor. Estel, clutching his bandana protectively, walked over and picked up the item.

"Hey, Rath, you dropped—" He broke off, a smirk spreading across his face, as he recognized the object. "Ooh, now that's something…"

Rath turned back, and his eyes widened as he saw what Estel was holding. Cen looked both intrigued and amused.

"So, what is it?"

Estel grinned and held up the square of fine white cloth, delicately embroidered. "Princess Sarah's handkerchief." He looked over at Rath, his grin widening. "You been carryin' this around with you this whole time?"

Rath apparently could not decide whether to look embarrassed or angry. "Of course I still have it," he said through gritted teeth. "Or did you expect me to discard it rather than return it to her?"

"Oh, no, of course not," Estel said with a falsely innocent tone. "Just, y'know, I'd kinda figured you'd just keep it in your pack instead of havin' it tucked up your sleeve."

The look in Rath's eyes was truly alarming; it seemed the anger had won out over the embarrassment. He snatched the handkerchief from Estel, then turned and stormed out of the chamber, the air around him crackling.

Cen was beside himself with laughter.

"You're kidding," he finally managed to gasp. "You have _got_ to be kidding. Rath and the princess?" He dissolved into laughter again.

"Yeah, I know," Estel said, still grinning. "Priceless, isn't it?"

"Don't make fun of him!" Sapphire said hotly, looking both annoyed and crestfallen. "He has just as much right as anyone else to—" She broke off, her face coloring vividly, then she too swept out of the room.

Estel's amusement vanished as he watched her leave.

* * *

The journey back to Cornelia was not fun. Thanks to the episode with the handkerchief, Rath was in an even fouler mood than usual, which in turn rubbed off on Sapphire, who took it upon herself to be mortally offended on Rath's behalf at Cen and Estel's teasing. This did little to stop them, but it was also clear that Sapphire's attitude bothered Estel greatly.

Once they had returned to the castle, however, things settled back to more or less how they had been before: Rath and Sapphire sequestering themselves in the library, and Cen and Estel wandering about and doing whatever they pleased. The only change to this formula was that now Princess Sarah frequently came to the library as well. She did not join Rath and Sapphire in their studies, but instead sat in an armchair a short distance away, alternating between reading and watching Rath over the top of her book. Rath behaved civilly to her, though he remained in a bad mood and seemed determined not to fuel Cen and Estel's mocking any further.

One evening, about a week and a half after the companions' return to the castle, the usual studious atmosphere of the library broke rather abruptly as Cen and Estel entered. Cen glanced around, giving the room a dark look, and his expression remained decidedly pigheaded as he drew a chair over to Rath and Sapphire's table and sat down. Estel followed, a mildly interested look on his face, and pulled over a chair to the opposite side of the table from Cen. He sat down in it sideways, so his legs hung over one of the armrests.

Sapphire looked up from her book as soon as Cen and Estel sat down, but Rath ignored them. Estel raised an eyebrow at this, then looked around the room. He then turned to Rath, a would-be innocent expression on his face.

"So, where's your girlfriend?" he asked.

Rath's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing dangerously beneath the brim of his hat. "Have I not already insisted you cease those remarks?"

Estel shrugged. "Yeah, probably. But, y'see, I _did_ notice you don't ever tell me I'm wrong; you just tell me to shut up. Soon as you admit it…"

Rath gave Estel a very icy look, then turned away to face Cen.

"And to what do we owe your unexpected company?" he asked, an edge still in his voice. He rather pointedly set aside the book he had been perusing.

Cen shot an annoyed look across the table at Estel before he answered. "We want you to tell us about what's going on."

Rath raised an eyebrow. "Concerning what, precisely?"

"About what we're actually supposed to be doing with this whole 'Light Warrior' business. Since we're all in this together, it's stupid that you know everything that's going on and we don't."

"Exactly," Estel said, nodding.

Rath surveyed Cen dispassionately, then looked away and began shuffling through his pages of notes. "That is a fair assertion. I am surprised you have not said anything concerning it previously."

"I just didn't want to come in here," Cen said, frowning around at the bookcase-lined walls again. "But since you don't ever seem to _leave_ it, I finally figured I didn't have a choice."

"It took you nearly two weeks to arrive at that conclusion?"

Cen scowled and slumped back in his chair in disgust. "You know what? Never mind. I don't know why I figured I'd be able to get any kind of useful answer out of you; all you ever do is insult people—"

"Ah, now that's not fair, Cen," Estel chided jokingly. "He only insults me and you, remember?"

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Cen asked, giving Estel a flat look.

"Nope. You're doin' this all wrong, though. Here, watch me." Estel turned to Sapphire, who looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Sapphire? Could you please ask Rath to tell us what the hell's goin' on?"

Cen snickered at this in spite of his annoyance, and Estel grinned. Sapphire blushed and suddenly became unable to look at any of the others. Rath just ignored all of them as he finished rearranging his notes.

"Okay, okay," Estel said finally. "We'll play nice now. Okay, Rath?"

Rath glared at him, but he did look slightly less annoyed. Estel, taking this to mean "yes," nodded and waved a hand at Cen.

"Your turn, pal."

"Yeah, okay." Cen straightened up and turned to Rath. "So, how about you tell us what we have to _do_, exactly. You said 'save the world', but that's not very helpful."

"If you wish for precise details, I am afraid I can offer little help," Rath said, looking up from his pile of notes. "The most basic and condensed explanation of our task, however, should be sufficient here."

Cen blinked a few times. "Whatever. Let's just hear it."

"Each of the four forces has an altar, a source in which its power is based. Our shards of crystal correspond with the Crystals of these four altars and mark us as those prophesied to purge the forces of the darkness infecting them."

"What kinda darkness?" Estel asked, sitting up a little. "I mean, what's doin' this to the forces in the first place?"

"None of my research has provided a concrete explanation for the corruption of the altars, and Sapphire similarly has found nothing beyond conjecture."

"Oh."

"So, what do we do when we get to the altars?" Cen asked.

"Our crystals are part of the altars; we would, I imagine, need to set them back in place for the altars to be restored."

Sapphire nodded. "That's what my reading indicates as well. I've found a few references to 'returning the shards of light to their rightful places,' often in connection with the forces."

Estel blinked. "So it's not just that Lukahn guy who was talkin' about these shards and things? Lots of people have?"

"Of course," Rath said, giving Estel a rather unflattering look. "Lukahn was merely the most recent, and certainly the most specific, of the prophets to speak of these things. I had heard, in fact, he even knew of all the Crystals' exact locations."

"Wait." Cen frowned. "Does that mean the altars are hidden or something?"

"Yes. It seems two were discovered many centuries ago, but their locations have since been lost again."

Cen gave him a dull look. "That's _really_ helpful."

"I…have heard something about that, though," Sapphire said. "Sarah and I were talking, and she mentioned that, a little while ago, there were a lot of rumors that one of the Crystals is on the continent just to the north. Most of the rumors had come out of Pravoka, so I was thinking we could start searching there. That…might not be right, but… At least it's a start, right?"

Rath nodded, looking thoughtful. "It is. That is very helpful, Sapphire."

Sapphire beamed with pleasure at having received such extravagant praise, her face going bright red. Estel, seeing this, frowned and slumped in his chair.

"Okay…" Cen looked confused again. "So, you said _all_ the altars are broken, or darkened or whatever, right? Then…" He pulled out his shard of crystal and dropped it onto the table, where it shed warm scarlet light on the books and papers. "Why is my shard glowing? None of the rest of yours are."

"Assumedly, the altar to which it is connected has not been fully corrupted yet. Sapphire's shard, if you recall, glowed in that manner as well but ceased to do so only recently; I take this to mean the altar in question also darkened at that time."

"So which altar's mine?" Cen asked, picking up his shard and turning it over in his hands.

"Fire," Rath said. "Sapphire's is Earth. Estel's is Wind."

"And yours is Water," Sapphire said.

Rath's shoulders stiffened very slightly. "Yes." He glanced at Cen. "Was this an adequate explanation, or do you desire further information?"

Cen shook his head. "No, that was fine."

"That wasn't a whole lot, y'know," Estel said, still slouching and not looking at the others. "Lookin' at how much time you guys spend in here, I figured you'd have more to say."

Rath gave him a cool look. "Our studies have been less productive than I had hoped, at least in regards to the Crystals themselves. Time has also been spent researching more mundane matters."

"Sounds fun," Estel said dully. He hoisted himself out of his chair. "I'm outta here. Cen, wanna go raid the kitchens again?"

"Sure." Cen got to his feet and started toward the door. Estel followed him.

"Thanks for the info-dump," Estel said, waving vaguely back over his shoulder at Sapphire and Rath and sounding a bit sarcastic.

"Yeah," Cen said with the same tone. "Let's not do this again sometime."

With that, the pair left the room, Estel shutting the doors behind them.

Rath went back to his reading. Sapphire, still pink in the face, watched him for a moment, then spoke hesitantly:

"You…could be nicer to them."

"Undoubtedly," Rath murmured, only half paying attention.

"Then why aren't you?"

"Because I would rather not."

"But—"

"Sapphire, I am attempting to concentrate," Rath said, an edge in his voice. He glanced up long enough to shoot her an annoyed look, then turned back to his book.

Sapphire bit her lip and dropped her gaze to the lamplit tabletop in front of her. "I'm sorry. I just—" She broke off as she realized Rath was not paying attention. She sighed, picked up a book, and began to read again as well.


	5. Separate Ways

**Chapter 5: Separate Ways**

Two months had passed since the Light Warriors had rescued Princess Sarah. The bridge that spanned the Strait of Cornelia had at last been fully repaired, reconnecting the Cornelian peninsula to the continent to its northeast. This meant the Light Warriors now had access to Cornelia's eastern territories, and more importantly, to the nation of Pravoka, their next destination.

As soon as word of the bridge's completion came, Rath informed his companions they would be leaving as soon as possible.

"We have tarried long enough. As our path is now clear, there is no reason to remain sedentary any longer. We will depart in two days."

The evening after this proclamation had been made, the companions had another meeting. This time, however, instead of invading the library, Cen and Estel waited outside it until Rath and Sapphire left for the evening. The four proceeded through the stone corridors to their chambers, talking as they went.

"How long's it gonna take to get to Pravoka City, anyway?" Estel asked. "Y'know, on foot."

"The journey will take between two and three weeks," Rath said. He, as usual, walked a few feet in front of the others and did not look back at them as he spoke. "Anticipate it being the latter."

"Have you been to Pravoka before, then?" Sapphire asked, sounding interested.

Rath shot a quick look back at her out of the corner of his eye. "Yes."

"We've been, too," Estel added quickly, raising his hand a little to try to catch Sapphire's eye. "Me and Cen've been there too, a bunch of times."

Sapphire turned to him after casting another glance at Rath. "Really? You all have?" She gave a slightly embarrassed smile. "I…guess I'm the only one who hasn't, then. What's it like there?"

Estel thought for a moment.

"Dirty," he said finally.

Sapphire blinked. "Dirty?"

"Yup." Estel nodded. "I mean, you look around at Cornelia and stuff, and it all looks nice and clean, like people try to make it look good. Pravoka's kinda a mess, and real crowded. And most of the time it's full of pirates, so you gotta be careful."

"That…doesn't sound very nice."

"Yeah, not really." He fell silent, then his eyes lit up as he remembered something. "Oh, hey, it's an extra good thing we're goin' there, though. Since the port here got smashed, that's where Elend said he was gonna meet up with me and Cen. So, whatever place we gotta go next, we won't hafta walk to get there; Elend can just take us on his ship."

"Oh, right," Cen said, eyes widening. "I'd forgotten about that. He might even be there already."

"His ship's real nice," Estel told Sapphire. "You'll like it."

Sapphire nodded, but she looked a little concerned. "Will everything be okay there? In Pravoka, I mean. If it's so full of pirates, won't it be dangerous?"

"Well…" Estel considered this. "Yeah, it's _kinda_ dangerous. But most of 'em around there know me and Cen, and _all_ of them know Elend, and they know better'n to mess with him or anyone with him. We oughta be okay."

"We'll still be careful, though," Cen added, giving Estel a pointed look.

"Well, yeah, 'course we will," Estel said hurriedly.

Sapphire, frowning a bit in confusion, turned back to Rath, as usual ignoring the conversation going on behind him.

"What time will we be leaving tomorrow, Rath?"

"As early as possible," Rath said. Cen and Estel muttered it in unison along with him, then snickered.

They were now drawing near their chambers. Each companion had a private room, but all four were near each other and situated only a short distance from the royal apartments. A pair of guards nodded to the Light Warriors as they passed, a gesture the companions returned with varying degrees of formality.

"Y'know, that's gettin' kinda old, Rath," Estel said. "How about we leave later for once, huh?"

Rath did not reply. He did, however, stop walking abruptly, causing a near-collision with those behind him, as a nearby door opened and Princess Sarah stepped out into the corridor. She smiled as she saw the companions, and her eyes lingered for a moment on Rath.

"I thought I heard your voices," she said. She had her hair down, and it hung in loose waves over her shoulders and down her back. "This is earlier than you usually finish studying, isn't it?"

"Not much earlier, Your Highness," Rath said, ignoring Cen and Estel's snickers.

"We missed seeing you in the library today, Sarah," Sapphire said.

Sarah smiled. "And I missed being there with you, especially in light of your departure tomorrow. I just had some rather pressing matters to attend to today." Her cheeks went slightly pink, though the color was so light that it went unnoticed in the torchlit corridor.

"I realize you are in the middle of a discussion," she said, "but could you spare Rath for a moment? I wish to speak with him privately."

Cen and Estel exchanged a look, and though they made a valiant effort not to laugh in front of the princess, it was clear they were fighting a losing battle. Sapphire frowned at them, her face a vivid red. Rath gave them all a chilly glare before turning back to Sarah.

"As you wish, Your Highness." He glanced at the others in their various states of distress. "I suggest you all leave before any of you rupture something."

Cen and Estel immediately left the corridor as quickly as they could so they could give the situation the laughter they felt it deserved. Sapphire followed them more slowly, her expression despondent. As soon as the three had turned down an adjacent corridor to reach their chambers, Rath focused his full attention back on the princess.

"For what purpose did you wish to speak with me, Your Highness?"

Sarah shook her head. "Not here." She stepped back into the room behind her, holding the door open and gesturing for Rath to enter. "I said I wished to speak with you privately, didn't I?"

Rath took a step forward, then stopped. Though, as usual, only his eyes could be seen, he was clearly frowning behind his high collar.

"Those are your private chambers, Your Highness."

"Yes, I am aware of that," Sarah said, smiling.

"It would be inappropriate for me to enter, even with your invitation."

Sarah's smile became a bit mischievous. "It was also inappropriate for me to be in the library with you without a chaperone, but you said nothing then."

Rath did not reply. After a rather awkward pause, he finally, and with some reluctance, did as she bade and entered the room. Sarah closed the door behind him.

The chamber was a small sitting room, comfortably furnished and with elegant tapestries on the walls. Windows lined one wall, the openings tapering up to pointed arches, and looked out over the last rays of the sunset. A fire burned in the fireplace, its quiet crackling and the smell of the burning wood filling the warm air. Another door led to the adjacent bedchamber.

Rath remained near the door, as though hoping to lessen his intrusion by going no farther into the room than necessary. He had a faint look of discomfort in his eyes.

"What did you wish to discuss, Your Highness?"

Sarah smiled with a hint of shyness. "I wish to bid you farewell."

"I do not see why that must be done away from the others."

"Don't you?" Sarah stepped closer to Rath and rested her hand on his arm. Her gaze did not leave his eyes.

Rath's shoulders stiffened at her touch, and he had to look away. "Your Highness…"

"Why do you continue to call me that?" Sarah asked, smile still on her lips. "Your companions all call me by name now."

"I feel it more appropriate to address you in a formal manner."

"I think you have a perfectly good reason to use my name, though."

Rath was quiet for a moment, keeping his eyes averted. "I would not be so presumptuous as to assert that, Your Highness."

Sarah moved to stand before Rath, stepping forward so they were nearly toe to toe. Though Rath's posture remained stiff, he did turn to look at her. She removed her hand from his arm and took his hand instead, holding it gently between both her own. Her affectionate gaze met his discomfited one.

"I would like it very much if you called me by name," she said after a moment, her cheeks going pink. "Because I don't think you can honestly say you do not reciprocate my feelings, even if just a little."

There was a pregnant pause.

"That is…an accurate assumption," Rath said at last, with some difficulty. He was breathing rather hard, and his hand, clasped in Sarah's, shook very slightly.

Sarah did not look surprised by this answer. Instead, a hopeful, almost excited look appeared in her eyes, and her face flushed darker. She pressed his hand tightly and leaned in toward him.

"Then…show me," she whispered.

This request came as such a surprise that Rath nearly obeyed it. He lifted his hand to cup her cheek, his touch light and surprisingly gentle. Then his eyes widened as he remembered himself, and he withdrew his hand as quickly as he had raised it. He looked away, visibly unnerved, and stared toward the fireplace. His eyes seemed to glow in the reflected firelight.

"I think not, Your Highness. We have already stepped well beyond the bounds of propriety, and I would rather not risk anything further. You have your reputation to consider, if nothing else."

"_My_ reputation." Sarah had sobered a bit at Rath's hesitance, but now a faint smile returned to her face. "Don't you have any concern for your own, then?"

Another pause.

"I have no reputation worth ruining," Rath said.

Sarah watched him in silence for a moment, waiting for him to provide some clarification of this statement. When he gave none, she laughed quietly. "Oh, you are _very_ mysterious, Rath."

"A mysterious demeanor is something of a requirement in my particular vocation, Your Highness." His tone was dry, as though he disapproved of his own small show of humor. Sarah, on the other hand, just laughed again.

"I suppose so." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it and backing away a step. "I have a gift for you."

Rath looked up in surprise. "A gift?"

Sarah nodded, then turned and crossed to the bedchamber, her petticoats rustling as she went, her fair hair shining in the firelight. Rath's shoulders relaxed somewhat, and he shut his eyes as he tried to gather his thoughts. Outside, the sun had fully set, leaving the sky an inky blue and making the fire the only source of light in Sarah's chambers. Shadows flickered and danced across the walls and floor.

Only a moment later, Sarah returned, bearing something wrapped in fine, dark purple cloth. Rath opened his eyes as she approached, and some of his tension returned. She handed him the bundle, and he removed the cloth to reveal a lute, beautifully carved of dark-grained wood. The strings shimmered in the firelight.

Rath stared at the instrument with undisguised awe. Sarah smiled.

"It has been passed down from princess to princess for centuries," she said. "I've heard tales that it's enchanted in some way, but even if it's not, it's still a fine instrument. I don't know whether you play or not, but…" Her face went pink. "I would like you to have it, as something to remember me by."

For a moment, Rath seemed to be at a loss for words. He turned the lute over in his hands, examining the carvings on it.

"This is very kind of you, Your Highness," he said, his voice soft; he sounded almost touched. "I scarcely deserve such a gift."

"You deserve far more," Sarah said, "but it is the best I can give."

There was a long, charged silence. Rath stared down at the lute in his hands, while Sarah watched him. At last, Rath spoke:

"I am most grateful for this, Your Highness."

Sarah beamed. "You're welcome. I hope you will be able to make good use of it on your journey." A slightly shy look appeared in her eyes again. "I've always found playing it to be very soothing to me when I've felt upset or sad; perhaps you will find that it helps you as well."

"Perhaps."

Another awkward pause, during which Rath began wrapping the lute back in the cloth. Finally, Sarah broke the silence.

"I would like to make a request of you, Rath."

Rath finished covering the lute and tucked it under his arm, then looked at Sarah, trying to keep his expression inscrutable. Sarah took a step closer to him.

"I want you to return here when you and your companions have finished your quest. Will you do that?"

"I will do my utmost to do so," Rath said after a pause.

"Thank you," Sarah said, smiling. "Then I shall look forward to your return."

She moved so she was toe to toe with him again, her gaze locked with his rather conflicted one.

"It is growing late, Your Highness. I should depart."

Sarah nodded, now looking very shy indeed. "Just…just one more moment."

She placed her hand on his shoulder, Rath again tensing at the contact, then hesitantly lifted her other hand to touch the collar of his robes. She started to turn it down, but she scarcely revealed another millimeter of his face before he reached up and caught her hand.

"Do not do that," he said, some of his usual sharpness back in his voice.

Sarah looked surprised; he had not used a tone like that with her before. "Why?"

"It is a personal matter." He sounded quite terse now. "It does not concern you, Your Highness."

Sarah frowned, looking deeply puzzled. Rath released her hand, and she withdrew it slowly. She watched him as he looked away again, his eyes narrowed just a bit, what little could be seen of his face scarcely visible in the flickering firelight. Then, after a moment of silence, she embraced him, pressing close against him and resting her head on his shoulder.

Rath's eyes flew wide open, and he made an odd jerking motion, as though trying half-heartedly to pull away. His breath quickened as he struggled to overcome his surprise and alarm. Finally, his breathing became steady, and he hesitantly returned the embrace.

They stood like that for some time. The room darkened as the fire began to die.

Not surprisingly, Rath was the one to end the embrace.

"I must leave now, Your Highness. I yet have some tasks to complete before I retire, and I would like to do so as swiftly as possible."

Sarah nodded her understanding, but there was a definite look of longing in her eyes.

"Of course," she said. "My family and I will be seeing you off in the morning, so I shall see you again then." She smiled faintly. "Good evening, Rath."

Rath inclined his head. "Good evening…" He hesitated. "…Sarah." With that, he turned, opened the door, and left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Sarah glowing with pleasure.

Out in the corridor, Rath leaned against the wall, shutting his eyes in both consternation and deep thought. He took the lute from beneath his arm and looked at it, turning it over in his hands. His breathing quickened again, and he straightened up and shook his head. He tucked the lute under one arm and swept off down the corridor in the opposite direction from the Light Warriors' chambers.

* * *

At nine o'clock the next morning, when the companions were supposed to be leaving, only Sapphire and Cen stood, ready to go, in the wide, sunlit entrance hall of Castle Cornelia. They had seen Estel briefly earlier in the day, but Rath was nowhere to be found. The royal family had yet to arrive.

Sapphire leaned back against one of the pillars that lined the hall, tracing the edges of the flagstones with the tip of her staff. She looked as though she had not slept well, her eyes half-closed and a bit shadowed. Cen paced, muttering and tapping the hilt of his sword. He had sold his rapier and now bore the longsword Garland had dropped during their battle with him. That, in addition to the shirt of chainmail he had bought to replace his ruined leather armor, did a great deal to improve his general mood; he appeared far more confident than he had when they had last left Cornelia. Rath's absence may also have had something to do with that, however.

"Where are they?" Sapphire said suddenly. Her grip on her staff tightened and she stomped away from the pillar.

Cen stopped pacing.

"They should be here soon," he said, giving her a reassuring sort of smile. "I bet they just ran in to town for a minute."

"I suppose…"

"Hey, there you are!" Estel came striding into the hall through the massive front doorway. He trotted over to Cen and Sapphire, swinging a long-handled fighting hammer in one hand as he went. "Haven't been waitin' long, have you?"

Cen shook his head.

"Where have you been?" Sapphire asked. "Was Rath with you?"

"In town, and no, he wasn't. I haven't seen him all morning."

Sapphire frowned.

"Where'd you get that, Estel?" Cen asked, gesturing to the hammer Estel held.

"Huh?" Estel looked down at the hammer, then lifted it up and held it out in front of him as though testing its balance. "Y'mean this? Just picked it up in town. For you, actually," he added, offering Sapphire the weapon.

Sapphire blinked. "What? I can't use that…"

"Sure you can," Estel insisted. "You got a good strong swing; this'll hit harder than that staff of yours, and it's sturdier too." He grinned. "C'mon. I actually bought it and everything."

"You…did?" Sapphire's eyes widened in surprise.

Estel looked wounded. "What's with that look? You told me not to steal stuff here anymore, and I said okay, I wouldn't. You didn't think I was lyin', did you?"

"I…" Sapphire shook her head. "No, of course I didn't. Thank you for getting that for me, Estel. That's very nice of you."

Estel beamed, his consternation vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. "You'll do good with it," he said with a knowledgeable nod as he handed Sapphire the hammer. "These things aren't too hard to swing around, so you can just smack things with it without a lotta trouble."

Sapphire nodded, examining the hammer with polite interest. Then, frowning, she looked back at Estel. "How am I supposed to carry it? It won't do much good if I just have it in my pack."

"Ah, right. I'll show you." Estel took the hammer from her and pointed to the leather strap attached to the handle, just below the head. "You hang it on your belt with this. Here, lemme—" He reached out to fasten the strap onto the braided cord around Sapphire's waist, but then he stopped, reconsidered, and drew his hands back. He stepped closer to her and held the strap out so she could see it better. "See, you just loop this around your belt, and the knots and things on it link together and hold it in place." He demonstrated this. "Then, when you gotta pull it off, you just pop the knot out…" He did so. "And off it comes. Easy, right?"

"Yes, it is," Sapphire said, smiling a little. "Thank you." She took the hammer and set about attaching it to her belt.

Estel grinned. "You're welcome."

Cen watched this exchange with some amusement, then he looked around the hall. "Okay, this is just getting stupid now. Where _is_ he?"

"Who, Rath?" Estel adjusted his bandana and shrugged. "Betcha he just slept in. I sure would've, if I'd been up as late as he was."

Sapphire looked up, her expression a mixture of confusion and dismay. "He was…up late? How late?"

Estel shrugged. "Hell if I know. I mean, I was up pretty late too, but I didn't ever hear him come back to his room."

"Oh, really?" Cen raised an eyebrow, looking deeply amused. "Anyone want to take a guess about why he didn't?"

"Well, I—" Estel started to reply but he broke off as he saw the stricken look on Sapphire's face. "Oh. I, ah…sorry, Sapphire, I just, er, I mean, I didn't…" He trailed off, mumbling half-intelligible excuses and looking as though he could quite happily punch himself for bringing up the matter.

Sapphire just ignored his muttering, instead turning away and staring out the front doorway at the green lawn that surrounded the castle. She had a rather troubled look on her face, and she started fiddling with the hem of one of her sleeves.

"Where do you think Rath is now?" she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"I am right here."

The three companions turned and saw Rath approaching, the rhythmic clunking of his staff against the flagstones echoing through the wide hall. His face, as ever, was hidden by his hat and collar. The royal family accompanied him, Princess Sarah walking close by his side. Sapphire's face colored slightly, and her mouth narrowed to a thin line.

"Where have you been?" she asked in a would-be calm voice when Rath reached her and the others.

Rath raised an eyebrow. "I have been speaking with His Majesty concerning our journey. I assumed I did not need your permission to do so."

Sapphire frowned and looked away, and so missed the concerned look Sarah gave her.

King Hiram apparently did not notice the undertones in this exchange, or he might have been purposefully ignoring them. He looked around at the Light Warriors with an expression of paternal pride.

"You must be weary of hearing it," he said, "but again, I thank you for rescuing Sarah. Should you ever return to Cornelia, you are welcome to stay here again."

A scarcely noticeable look passed between Sarah and Rath.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Rath said. "We are all most grateful for the hospitality that has been shown to us."

Estel apparently took 'hospitality' to mean something other than what Rath intended, because he began snickering behind his hand. Cen, chewing on the inside of his cheek to keep a straight face himself, elbowed him in the ribs, and Sapphire shot them both a scolding look. Estel, looking chastened, hastily tried to make it look as though he had only been clearing his throat.

"It was the least we could do," Hiram said. "You deserve far more for what you have done."

Sarah nodded her agreement to this, her eyes sparkling. Rath made a point of not looking at her, keeping his gaze steadily on King Hiram.

"We merely did what needed to be done, Your Majesty. The satisfaction of having done so is repayment enough."

Hiram beamed. "Such humility. The fate of the world could not be in better hands than it is now."

Rath inclined his head. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Queen Jayne stepped forward, a smile on her lips as she looked around at the companions. "We wish you luck on your journey, Warriors. Our thoughts, and Sarah's, will go with you as you travel."

Sarah beamed at them as she stepped up beside her mother. Her lower lip trembled slightly. "I can't thank you enough for what you did for me," she said. "I…I'm going to miss you all very much. Travel safely; we hope to see you again soon." Her gaze lingered on Rath as she said this.

"Thank you for bringing my sister back!" Princess Ana hugged each of the companions around the middle, because she could not reach any higher, and tugged Sapphire down so she could kiss her on the cheek. She seemed to contemplate doing the same to Rath but just ended up blushing furiously, giving him another hug, and scurrying away to hide behind her mother.

Cen and Estel both looked utterly bemused by this, but Sapphire looked away again, frowning. Hiram and Jayne gave Ana rather indulgent looks, and Sarah hid her smile behind her hand. Rath, on the other hand, gave no reaction to this beyond giving Ana a nearly amiable look as she peeked out from behind Jayne's pale red skirts.

"Again," he said, turning his attention back to Hiram, "we thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty. I assure you, your faith in us will not go unfounded."

"We are certain it will not," Hiram said, smiling. "Fare well on your journey, Warriors. Restore light to the Crystals."

Rath, Cen, and Estel bowed, and Sapphire curtsied, then the group turned and began to leave the hall. As they did, however, Sarah called out:

"Sapphire!"

Sapphire, an indecipherable look on her face, stopped and turned as Sarah hurried up to her. Cen and Estel halted as well, but Rath carried on toward the doorway, stopping only when he realized the others were not following him.

Sarah put her hands on Sapphire's shoulders, looking at her with concern.

"Sapphire, are you all right? You seem upset about something."

Sapphire gave a small, rather forced smile and nodded. "I'm fine. It's all just a bit…overwhelming, that's all."

Sarah did not look wholly convinced, but she did not press the matter. She gave Sapphire a reassuring smile and embraced her.

"Good luck on your journey."

Sapphire returned the gesture. "Thank you."

* * *

And so their quest began.

The Light Warriors departed from Castle Cornelia, striking out northward and reaching the newly-completed bridge by sunset. There was little conversation among the four until they had crossed, stepping out of the shadows of the bridge's sweeping towers.

While the land of the Cornelian peninsula was mainly flat, rolling hills and low mountains adorned the mainland territories. These started right at the water's edge, so as soon as the companions reached the northern shore, they began to climb. As they crested a tall hill, the packed dirt road running along its rim and out of sight down the opposite side, Sapphire stopped and turned back, looking at the city of Cornelia gleaming in the light of the setting sun. Gradually, the others halted and looked back as well.

"What is it?" Estel asked, stepping up beside Sapphire and looking at her.

Sapphire did not respond at once. She continued to stare back at Cornelia, her brow furrowed slightly.

"I…I don't know," she said finally. "This just feels strange, somehow. I…can't really describe it, but…" She trailed off, frowning in thought. "Before…when we were reading about the Crystals and the prophecies, it all just seemed like…like words on a page. I knew the words pertained to us, but…it didn't really strike me until just now. The fate of the entire world rests on _us_…" Sapphire turned to the others. "We're leaving to save the world, and we don't even know what we have to do to save it."

Estel tilted his head. "You don't sound real worried about that," he said. "How come?"

Sapphire turned back to look at Cornelia, the sky above darkening and throwing the city into shadow, save for the highest turrets of the castle. She had a small smile on her lips. "Because we were destined to do this. The gods put us on this path, and I have faith that they'll see us through to the end of it."

Estel smiled and looked out at Cornelia as well. "Well, when you put it like _that_, hard not to look on the bright side, huh?"

"Yeah," Cen said, and Sapphire nodded.

"This task has nothing to do with 'the bright side'."

Cen, Estel, and Sapphire turned to look at Rath, standing a short distance away from them. His eyes were also fixed on Cornelia, his gaze stony.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cen asked, frowning in annoyance.

Rath did not look at the others as he replied. "This is no nursery tale of heroics; this is a plunge into darkness from which we may not return. That the gods themselves have chosen us merely means we will face greater trials than any other person born into this world. I do not see how that can inspire hope."

An uneasy silence fell.

"Way to kill the moment," Estel muttered under his breath.

Sapphire looked a bit hurt. "You can't really mean that, Rath."

"Of course I can," Rath said, still not taking his eyes from the darkening city. "We may be doing a great deed for the people of the world, but that does not mean it will be a deed easily done. The sooner you all realize that, the better you will be able to withstand what will happen."

"And you know what's going to happen, is that it?" Cen said, scowling.

Rath shot Cen a caustic look. "The rough course of events can be determined by simple logic. Nothing of value can be achieved without great effort or great sacrifice. To think otherwise is the height of ignorance." He turned and started down the path again, the dirt crunching under his feet. "You are, of course, all free to continue in your optimism, if you wish. Personally, however, I have never had much use for it."

"Why not?" Sapphire asked before she could stop herself.

Rath did not answer; he just continued walking and soon disappeared from sight behind the hill.

In the sky, the last beams of sunlight faded, plunging the land into shadow. A cool breeze arose, rustling the leaves of the trees clustered among the hills. Sapphire shivered a bit and hugged her elbows.

"I…don't understand how he can think that," she murmured, more to herself than to Cen or Estel.

Estel shrugged. "Just him bein' Captain Cheerful again, I guess. C'mon, let's catch up with him. Don't want him gettin' lost or anything, right?"

"We don't?" Cen asked, looking genuinely disappointed.

"_No_, we don't," Estel said firmly, but then he smirked. "After we're done with this savin' the world business, yeah, we'll let him wander off wherever the hell he wants. Not before that, though. Sorry," he added, punching Cen genially on the arm.

Cen sighed and shook his head. "Oh, well. A guy can hope, can't he?" He adjusted his pack and trudged off after Rath.

Sapphire and Estel followed him after casting a final look back at Cornelia. Sapphire stared down at the ground in front of her as she walked, her brow furrowed in thought. Estel watched her in silence for a moment, then he tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up at him.

"Hm?"

"I agree with you. About, y'know, the prophecy thing."

Sapphire smiled. "Thank you, Estel."

Estel smiled back, then turned away to watch the path as he kicked a pebble along ahead of him. "Before, back when I was livin' in Cornelia, Mom used to tell me stories about heroes and the gods and all that, y'know. And one thing I remember her sayin'—especially now, with what you just said—was that the gods won't ever make anything happen to us that we wouldn't be able to deal with. So, if they gave us all this to do, that means they know we can take it, right?"

"Right." Sapphire nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking." She looked off into the gathering darkness ahead of them, frowning. "I wish we could make Rath understand that."

Estel shrugged. "I wouldn't hold my breath on that if I were you, Saph."

"What?" Sapphire stopped walking and blinked at him in confusion. "Saph?"

Estel stopped as well and looked back at her, worried that he had miscalculated. "Er, it's a nickname. Short for Sapphire, y'know? Is it okay if I call you that?"

Sapphire considered this, then nodded. "Yes, that's all right." She gave a slightly embarrassed smile. "I've just never had a nickname before."

"Well, now you do," Estel said, beaming at her approval. "Okay then, Saph, let's get goin' and catch up with Cen and Rath."

He started off down the path again, and Sapphire hurried forward to fall into step beside him.


	6. Honor Among Thieves

**Chapter 6: Honor Among Thieves**

The Republic of Pravoka had not been a sovereign nation for very long. Sixty years in the past, it had been the easternmost arm of the Cornelian Empire, but a misunderstanding of policies had spurred the Pravokans to take up arms against Cornelia in a bid for independence. A bloody civil war followed, culminating in Pravoka splitting off from the empire and forming its own nation. Though the war was long over, the Cornelia-Pravoka border still remained an issue of dispute, shifting back and forth at the whims of the opposing governments. The region consisted primarily of thick, inhospitable forest, and many people thought the dispute continued only as a matter of principle rather than because of any real desire by either side to possess the area.

At the time of the Light Warriors' journey, Cornelia held the majority of the northern continent, encompassing all the land directly northward and reaching as far as the eastern edge of Blackwood Forest. While the land near the Bay of Cornelia sported a number of towns, including a thriving port, Blackwood Forest and the area around it had little, if any, human population. Instead, wolves, goblins, and ogres held sway there, unbothered by the two nations squabbling over their territory.

Nearly one week into their travels, the Light Warriors entered this forest, and after another week, they had yet to leave it. Relatively speaking, they made good time, though at the expense of calm nerves: many wide, ogre-made paths crisscrossed the forest, and Rath led the group along these, sacrificing safety for swiftness. Cen and Estel protested this vehemently, but Rath ignored them, while Sapphire seemed torn between defending Rath and siding with Cen and Estel's legitimate concerns of attack.

Still, things went smoothly, for the most part. Ogres were not known for their stealth, and anyone could hear when one of the lumbering, giant humanoids was approaching. Wolves and goblins, though quicker and quieter, could do little more than emerge from among the mossy tree trunks before meeting with Rath's Sleep spell and dropping where they stood.

"At least all the monsters around here are getting a good night's sleep," Cen said, scowling as yet another pack of wolves collapsed into the dirt. He had drawn his sword at the wolves' appearance, but yet again Rath had been faster, ending the fight before Cen could act.

Rath turned to look at him, or at least seemed to; in the dim light of the forest, not even Rath's eyes could be seen anymore.

"You would prefer to waste time and fight them?" Rath asked coolly. "Hm. I was under the impression we wished to reach Pravoka as swiftly as possible."

Cen just muttered something inaudible and no doubt rude in reply as he sheathed his sword and started off down the path again. Estel hurried after him, leaving the two mages to bring up the rear.

"Cen?"

"What?" Cen snapped.

"Hey, be nice. I'm on your side, remember?" Estel clapped him on the shoulder. "Aw, lighten up. We're almost outta here, and then just a few more days to Pravoka. Then Rath'll cut it out a little."

Cen gave Estel a skeptical look. "Why would he?"

"Oh, c'mon." Estel smirked. "You really think Elend'll let him get away with actin' like that?"

Cen considered this, then a rather devious smile appeared on his face.

"That's a good point."

"Yeah, I know," Estel said, looking smug. "Why d'you think I said it?"

Cen started to reply, but then he broke off and stopped walking, listening intently. Estel stopped as well and watched him.

"What's up?"

"I think we have some company," Cen said, looking off into the thick forest to the left of the path. There came the sound of rustling from the underbrush and the dead leaves that covered the forest floor.

Cen frowned and turned back to Rath and Sapphire.

"Sounds like there's another ogre coming. Let's get—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a monstrous, six-legged lizard launched itself out of the woods and slammed into him, knocking him down and pinning him to the ground. Cen shouted in alarm and tried to kick the lizard off, but it weighed too much; his movement only agitated it. It hissed, its teeth dripping disease-ridden saliva, and lunged for his throat. Cen caught it by the snout and struggled to push it away.

Estel ran forward and vaulted onto the lizard's back with a thud. The lizard reared, releasing Cen and twisting to snap at Estel. Undeterred, Estel pulled two daggers from his belt and jabbed them into the lizard's bulbous eyes. The lizard screeched.

Sapphire ran over to Cen as he stood up. "Are you hurt?"

Cen shook his head. "No, I'm fine." He drew his sword and started toward the flailing lizard. "Estel, get off that thing; I'm going to turn it into a handbag!"

Estel gave a short laugh and jumped free, tumbling as he hit the ground and scrambling to his feet. Noticing his absence, the lizard stilled, its forked tongue flicking between its teeth as it tried to smell where its prey had gone. It sensed Cen as he approached, and it charged at him.

With the lizard's vision impaired, Cen easily dodged its attack, but before he could do more than raise his sword, silvery mist flooded the battlefield. Cen jumped back with an oath to get out of the spell's path, then spun around to glare at Rath.

"Cut that out! I can handle this!"

"Turn around," Rath said calmly.

Cen turned before Rath even finished his sentence, and only just in time; the lizard had been unaffected by Rath's spell and now turned and charged toward Cen again. Cen dodged, then brought his sword whistling down onto the lizard's neck. The head tumbled away, and the body carried on for a few feet before collapsing to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt and crushed leaves as it landed.

Estel whooped and cheered. "Atta boy, Cen!"

"Thanks," Cen said, looking a bit smug. He pulled a cloth out of a side pocket of his pack and wiped the lizard's blood from his sword, shooting Rath a look that clearly defied him to find anything wrong with his battle performance this time. Rath apparently could not do so, because he said nothing. Cen's look of smugness intensified.

Sapphire gaped at the lizard's corpse.

"It's enormous!" she said, sounding stunned. "I've never seen a lizard that big before. I mean, it's…it's longer than Cen is tall."

Estel walked over to the corpse and gave it a good kick.

"Aw, that's nothing. Out around Crescent Lake, there's _bugs_ that're bigger than this." He glanced at Sapphire to make sure she looked appropriately shocked.

A howl halted the conversation; the pack of wolves Rath had put to sleep had been roused by the sounds of the battle and had come to investigate. To make matters yet worse, more rustling could be heard out in the dense forest as other creatures converged on the area.

"_This_ is why I wished to avoid open combat!" Rath snapped, voice thick with contempt. "Everything within a mile of here knows of our presence now!"

"There wouldn't be so many _to_ know if you'd just let us kill them in the first place!" Cen snapped back before he ran forward to meet the nearest wolves.

The first to reach him got his sword through its chest and fell to the ground, gushing blood. Another wolf snapped at his leg, but he sidestepped and kicked it in the head, knocking it down. Before it could recover, Cen's longsword pierced its side. A third wolf rushed at him from behind, but before it reached him it dropped with a whimper, one of Estel's throwing knives embedded in its flank.

With a flash of light, a thunderbolt shot from Rath's hand and struck another wolf; it fell to the ground, convulsing. Rath repeated the incantation and felled yet another wolf, and another, before slumping against his staff with a quiet groan.

Only one wolf remained, the ugly, rust-colored warg that had led the others. It and Cen circled one another, each waiting for the other's first move, but before either could attack, a burbling cry came from the nearby trees; two creatures, looking like little more than lumbering digestive tracts with legs, lurched out onto the path and toward the fray. Stunned and repulsed, Cen took a step backwards, and the warg charged at him.

Estel intervened. He ran forward between Cen and the warg, daggers drawn. The warg did not hesitate to switch targets, and it sank its fangs into Estel's lower leg. Estel cried out in pain but kept enough presence of mind to plunge his daggers into the sides of the warg's chest and rip them free. The warg released him with a yelp, and he punched it hard in the side of the head to stun it before sticking a dagger in its throat.

Cen swiveled to face the two burbling evolutionary mistakes. They did not charge so much as try to fall on him, and he sliced one open as it dropped, splitting its leathery flesh and spilling acrid yellow liquid over the ground. The second creature used this distraction to its advantage; it oozed forward and engulfed Cen's right arm in its shapeless maw. Cen screamed.

Purple, vine-like growths slithered out from the creature and wrapped themselves around Cen, trying to pull him farther into the creature's mouth, and no matter how Cen fought, he could not break the tendrils' hold. Estel tried to go help, but he fell to the ground as his wounded leg crumpled beneath him. Sapphire, her face chalk-white, ran to him, knelt at his side, and began casting her Cure spell as quickly as she could.

"Rath! Do something, dammit!" Estel bellowed.

Rath, slumped against his staff with his head bowed, did not react at once. He slowly lifted his head, then his hand, and began muttering an incantation. A burst of fire flew from his palm, and as it did, his grip on his staff slipped and he collapsed.

The fire engulfed the creature gripping Cen, and it burned for barely two seconds before it exploded, turning all the nearby leaf litter to ash, singeing the overhanging branches, and hurling Cen backwards. He hit the ground with a crunch.

Estel, leg healed, and Sapphire both ran to him as he pulled himself up to a sitting position. He held his right arm away from him, his face contorted with pain. Estel dropped down beside him, looking at Cen's arm with disgust; much of the skin had been eaten away by the creature's digestive acid, and what remained was badly blistered. On top of that, the whole limb had been scorched by Rath's spell.

Estel looked at Sapphire. "Can you fix this, Saph?"

Sapphire, staring in shock at Cen's arm, gave herself a little shake and nodded. She sat down beside Cen, took out her water bottle, and emptied the contents over his arm to wash away the remaining acid.

"I…haven't ever seen one of those up close before," she said, her face still drained of color. "I didn't know they tried to do things like that to people…" She shook her head to clear it and murmured an incantation. Blue-green light flowed from her hands and began mending Cen's arm.

"Yeah, they're pretty nasty," Estel said, nodding and watching Cen's skin grow back. "Got those out around Crescent Lake too, but not a lot of 'em, luckily."

Cen examined his newly healed arm, stretching it experimentally, then smiled appreciatively at Sapphire. "Thanks. You're really good at that." He stood up and helped Sapphire to her feet before wiping off his sword and sheathing it. "All right. Let's get—" He looked around, and his expression changed to one of exasperation. "You have to be kidding me. What's he doing?"

Rath still lay where he had fallen after casting his Fire spell, crumpled up in a heap on the packed dirt of the path. His staff lay beside him, his hand resting on top of it. Sapphire stared at him for a moment, wide-eyed, then her face went bright red. Cen and Estel, on the other hand, walked over to him. Estel crouched down and squinted into the darkness between Rath's hat and collar.

"What happened to him?" he asked. "Did he faint?"

"He…he's asleep," Sapphire said, sounding rather embarrassed.

"Asleep?" Estel blinked in surprise, then leaned in closer so he could hear Rath's breathing. After a few moments of listening to the slow, steady rhythm, Estel nodded. "Yup, that sounds like 'asleep'."

Cen stared down at Rath with blatant incredulity, then lifted his gaze to the leafy canopy. "Great. Nice time to take a nap. Come on, let's wake him up so we can leave."

"You can't wake him up." Sapphire shuffled a bit. "I mean, you can try, but…it won't work."

Cen and Estel exchanged looks, bemused by Sapphire's obvious embarrassment, then Estel glanced over at her.

"Why not? What's goin' on with him?"

Sapphire shuffled again, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "He…used too much magic, so he…fell asleep. He won't wake up until…until he has his energy back."

She glanced over to see if Cen and Estel understood, but judging by the looks on their faces, they did not. Sapphire sighed.

"Don't you…I guess you don't know how magic works at all."

Estel shook his head.

"It…magic needs energy to work. When a person casts a spell, they draw on…I guess you could say their ability to stay awake; that's what fuels the spell. And when they use it all, then…they fall asleep, and can't wake up until they've completely restored the wakefulness they used up."

"So how much energy does he have to get back?" Estel asked, looking slightly puzzled, though nowhere near as puzzled as Cen.

Somehow, Sapphire's face managed to flush even darker. "I don't know. It's…that isn't the kind of thing you talk about with other people; it's very personal."

Estel nodded slowly, but Cen looked annoyed.

"Well, that's great. Is he going to do this every time we get in a big fight?"

Estel shrugged. "Maybe it's just like regular fightin', like the more you practice, the better you get. So, if he keeps usin' his magic a lot, he'll be able to use more of it." He glanced questioningly at Sapphire. "Right?"

Sapphire nodded, still very red in the face. Estel frowned in confusion.

"D'you, erm, mind me askin' why this bugs you so much?"

"Because it's…it's not something that should happen in front of other people," Sapphire said, tugging at her sleeves. "I mean, we shouldn't…it's very inappropriate for us to be seeing him like this."

Estel blinked. "Oh."

Sapphire looked at Cen. "You know, he…he did do that to help you; otherwise, that worm would have eaten you. He might not be very nice sometimes, but…he's really not as bad as you think he is."

"Yeah, maybe." Cen shrugged, looking sour. "He burned _me_ with that spell too, though. Oh, and now I get to be stuck carrying him around all day until we stop to camp." He knelt down and scooped up Rath's body. "So, I'll just say sorry now for not falling over myself to tell him 'thanks' later." He stood, staggering a bit as he adjusted his balance to compensate for Rath's weight, then started off down the path.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here before something else shows up."

* * *

By nightfall, the companions had left Blackwood Forest and officially entered the nation of Pravoka. Rath did not wake or even move at all the rest of the day, to Cen's great annoyance, and only really woke fully the following morning. If any of the others had hoped that getting so much sleep would put Rath in a better mood, they were sorely mistaken; after he finally woke, his attitude became even more foul than it had been before, and he refused to say more than two words to anyone. The others just attributed this to embarrassment at having fallen asleep and needing to be carried out of the forest.

The next few days saw the companions traversing Pravoka's hilly southern coast, the sparkling Aldean Sea stretching out on their right as far as they could see. This route took them a little out of the way, but as it allowed them to bypass another thick patch of forest, they were willing to suffer the slight detour. The coastal path gradually bent southward, then west onto an outcrop of land that drew near to a similar outcropping to the south, forming the Kappa Strait. From there, the path went due east, along the northern edge of the Bay of Pravoka, and finally came to Pravoka City itself.

"Bet we'll get there late tomorrow," Estel said as the companions tramped along the edge of a low, rocky bluff along the strait one afternoon. Fat white clouds dotted the sky, and the breeze had a salty tang to it.

"I hope so," Sapphire said, looking down at her robes. The white fabric had not stood up very well to all the traveling and dirt, and it was now rather badly stained, leaves and mud clinging to the bottom hem. Sapphire sighed.

Estel started to reply, but he was interrupted by a low _boom_ coming from the opposite side of a tall, rock-strewn hill just in front of the companions. Another boom followed it, and another. The companions stopped walking in surprise, and Cen and Estel exchanged curious glances.

"Pirate attack?" Estel suggested, raising an eyebrow.

Cen shrugged. "Let's go see."

The companions hurried forward and climbed the hill before them. This vantage point allowed them a sweeping view of the Bay of Pravoka, as well as of the scene on it.

Three intimidating-looking galleons and an equally impressive frigate had blockaded the bay, cutting off access to Pravoka City. Two other ships—a sloop and a sizable brig—faced the blockade and looked as though they were attempting to break through it. The continued cannon fire came mostly from the blockade ships, but the brig launched off volleys as well, while the smaller sloop ran interference. As the companions watched, one of the brig's volleys struck home, peppering the side of one of the galleons and taking down its mainmast.

Estel looked down at all this with a frown. "What the hell's goin' on here? Those aren't navy ships, are they?" He pointed at the blockade.

Cen shook his head. "Doesn't look like it. Well…" He frowned, squinting out at the battle. "I guess they could be. I can't see their colors from here."

"Maybe it's just pirates fighting," Sapphire said. "Didn't you say there are a lot of pirates here?"

Estel nodded. "Yeah… Well, hang on, I'll check."

He pulled off his pack and rummaged through it for a moment before unearthing a small spyglass. He put it to his eye and peered out at the battle. The galleon with the broken mast began retreating toward Pravoka, its fellows moving to close the gap.

"Can you see anything?" Sapphire asked after a moment.

"Nothing good," Estel said, still frowning. "No colors on those blocking ships, for starters, which is a bad thing."

"Why is that bad?"

"'Cause that means someone that's not the Pravokan Navy is blockin' off the port." He shifted his gaze, focusing on the two attacking ships. "Lessee who's tryin' to get in, then…" He fell silent for a moment, then his concerned expression changed to one of pleasant surprise. "Hey, it's Elend!"

"Huh?" Cen blinked, his expression mirroring Estel's. "Where? Let me see."

Estel handed the spyglass to Cen. "See, the brig. Those're Elend's colors, right?"

Cen focused on the brig's flag: a black, spike-impaled crescent on a red field. He nodded. "Yeah, that's him." He lowered the spyglass, his brow furrowed. "So what's he got himself into this time?"

"Dunno," Estel said, shrugging. "Just pray he doesn't get himself blown up."

The remaining galleons set off another volley of cannon fire, narrowly missing the brig; the cannonballs sent up a sprays of water and foam as they hit the sea surface. The brig responded with a round of its own. Cen winced.

"Too close."

"No kidding," Estel said, also cringing. He cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed out at the ships, "_Elend, if you do anything stupid out there and end up dead, I'm gonna kill you_!"

Cen lifted the spyglass to his eye again, watching the brig for a moment before shifting to look at the sloop as it skirted the line of the blockade, someone on deck casting a bevy of Thunder spells as it went. Cen frowned.

"Do you know whose sloop that is?" he asked, lowering the spyglass and turning to Estel, looking puzzled. "I haven't seen its flag before."

"Lemme see." Estel took the spyglass and focused on the sloop. It bore a more traditional Jolly Roger: a profiled sahagin head below crossed lightning bolts on a black field. Estel lowered the glass and frowned in thought for a moment, then he snapped his fingers. "Leila. Those're her colors."

Cen blinked in surprise. "What's she doing there?"

Estel shrugged and folded his arms across his chest, squinting out over the water as a volley from the blockade ships went wide, the sea erupting into plumes of foam where the cannonballs hit.

"Leila… That _really_ don't make sense now."

"Why doesn't it make sense?" Sapphire asked, looking somewhat torn between worry and interest.

"Elend and Leila don't like each other," Estel said, glancing at Sapphire before looking back through the spyglass at the battle. "I can't figure why they'd be workin' together on anything, unless it's against someone they both hate worse."

"Oh." Sapphire nodded her comprehension and looked out at the battle, shielding her eyes as the sun came out from behind a cloud. "Does…knowing that help you know who might be blocking the port?"

"Um…" Estel lowered the spyglass and thought for a moment. "Well, not really; just about anyone could fit under that at some point or other. No colors makes me think they're pirates too, but if it's to the point of fightin' then they should have their flags up like Elend does. So, either they don't want anyone knowin' who they are, or they're, erm…" He gestured vaguely in front of him, trying to think of the right word. "Dammit. Long word for hired swords."

"Mercenaries," Rath said. He had sat down on a nearby rock and looked very bored, only watching the battle out of a complete lack of anything better to do.

"Yeah, that's it," Estel said. "Mercenaries. But, really, either way, that ain't a good thing, 'specially with them havin' Pravoka all blocked off like that."

The blockade suddenly changed tactics. While the galleons maintained their bombardment, the frigate turned and started bearing down on the brig. It cut across the bow of the sloop, firing another round from its lower guns as it did. At such close range, the cannon fire nearly tore the sloop apart, splintering its mast and ripping long gouges down its sides. Leaving the foundering sloop behind, the frigate continued its course toward the brig.

Sapphire gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth, and Cen's eyes could not possibly have widened any farther.

"This is bad." He shouted out toward the ships, "_El, get out of there!_"

The brig did not retreat. Instead it turned and made as though to bypass the frigate and head farther into the bay. The wind, coming in strong from the south, gave the two ships equal advantage, but while the frigate was more heavily armed, the brig was faster. It swooped around the larger vessel, neatly evading the continued cannon fire, but instead of making its way into the bay, it drew in its sails and stopped by the wreckage of the sloop.

"He's pickin' up Leila's crew," Estel muttered, watching through the spyglass again. "Dammit, El, why d'you always gotta be so noble?"

The frigate began to turn about, continuing its pursuit of the brig. Stationary as it was, the brig presented a deceptively easy target. However, when volleys from the two galleons came too near, the cannonballs would burst apart in midair thanks to someone's clever application of black magic. Just as the frigate drew near, the brig hoisted its sails again and turned about, making for the strait. It passed the frigate, bombarding it with cannon fire and Thunder spells as it went, then sailed on through the strait and out into open water.

Cen heaved a sigh of relief and sat down on a nearby rock. "I hate it when he cuts it that close."

"No kidding," Estel said, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes to try to clear the sun-glare from them. He lowered his hands and shook his head before staring out over the water again, watching the blockade reform itself. "What the hell's goin' on here, guys?"

Cen shrugged. "No idea. I guess we'll find out once we get to Pravoka."

"Right…" Estel shook his head again, then returned his spyglass to his pack. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

True to Estel's prediction, the companions reached Pravoka City the next day, just as the sun began to dip below the horizon. The city sat directly on the waterfront and boasted the largest port on the Aldean, indeed in the entire world. As the companions approached it, however, they could see no movement at the docks, and all the berths were empty save for two: one held the damaged galleon the companions had seen previously; the other, what looked like a small cutter. No one could be seen aboard either ship, and the only sounds were the lapping of waves at the docks and the screeching cries of the seagulls wheeling overhead.

Estel looked around with great distrust.

"I don't like this."

"And you think continued staring will somehow change the situation to your liking?" Rath said, sounding even more caustic than usual.

"_Not_ in the mood, Rath."

The group continued on. A wide canal surrounded the thick outer wall of the city, so the main gate could only be reached by crossing the wooden causeway which led from the docks and shipyards. The boards of the causeway squeaked beneath the companions' feet as they walked across it, accompanied by the regular thuds of Rath and Sapphire's staves. The gates stood open and unguarded.

Unlike Cornelia, Pravoka had a very packed look to it, the brick buildings narrow and crammed close together. Also unlike Cornelia, Pravoka looked as though it had been completely emptied of people. A few ribbons of smoke unfurling from soot-blackened chimneys provided evidence to the contrary, but the feeling of abandonment remained in spite of this.

The boardwalk continued down the center of the city, separated from the buildings by narrow watercourses which functioned as a drainage system. The tang of the sea air became diffused by other scents: smoke, pitch, and refuse. Sounds of movement could be heard out of sight among the houses, but no one ever came into view. All the buildings had their windows closed and shuttered.

Sapphire looked around, holding her sleeve over her nose and mouth to keep from breathing in the smell of the place.

"Where do we go now?" she asked, her voice muffled.

"Well…" Estel stopped walking, bringing the others to a halt as well. "Since it looks like we're gonna be here a while, whatever we end up doin', guess we better get a room at an inn. If any of 'em are even open," he added, casting a dubious look around at the deserted streets.

"We could try Tia's place," Cen suggested. "Even if it was closed, she'd make an exception for us."

Estel considered this, then nodded. "Yeah, good idea."

Cen and Estel led the way to a grassy square in the center of town, then off down a dirty, rubbish-strewn side-street. After a few twists and turns, the street opened out onto a small cobbled square, a bit better kept than the rest of the city. At the far side of this square stood a rickety-looking little inn, a weather-beaten sign hanging above its door. Unlike most of the buildings in the city, no shutters covered the windows, and firelight spilled out into the darkening square.

"Charming," Rath said in a snide tone.

Estel scowled. "Cut it out. It's a good place."

He crossed the square and approached the inn, the others following him. He stopped just in front of the door and looked up at the sign. It featured the image of a bigeyes, a common water monster, dripping some dark fluid; beneath this, plain white writing declared the inn's name: The Bleeding Eye.

Estel read this over a couple of times, then grinned.

"Aw, that's great. Tia's a real gem."

"It's disgusting!" Sapphire said, staring up at the sign with revulsion.

Estel glanced at her and seemed to be trying not to chuckle. "Guess it's one of those things where you hadda be there to get it." He pushed the door open and walked inside, followed by the other companions.

The inn's entryway looked just as shabby as its exterior, but at least it was clean. A counter ran along the left wall, beside the open doorway leading into the pub and common room. A smoky oil-lamp sputtered quietly to itself on a corner of the counter, and another hung from the ceiling, shedding amber light over the area. No one stood behind the counter.

Estel looked around, frowning, then walked over to the counter and knocked on it. He waited for a minute, then knocked again. At this, a female voice rang out from the common room:

"All right, all right, be with ye in a minute!"

A moment later, a rather harassed-looking young woman emerged from the common room, wiping her hands on a rag. Her dirty auburn hair was pulled up in a ringleted ponytail, and she had quite a well-endowed figure, the bodice of her dress cut to draw attention to this fact. She looked up from wiping her hands, spotted Estel, and gave a delighted shriek that made everyone wince.

"Estel! Of all th' people to turn up…!"

She ran to Estel and flung her arms around him. Estel gave her a quick hug in return, grinning.

"Good to see you, Tia. Love what you done with the place."

"Th' new name, y'mean?" Tia asked, releasing him and grinning in return. "Yeah, I thought ye would." She looked over at Cen, and she gave him an arch look. "Even better lookin' now than ye were last time ye were here, Cen. How's a girl supposed to keep her decency with ye around, eh?"

Cen, looking very smug, raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "It's not my fault if you can't. And you _do_ know I'd do everything I could to stop you, right?"

Tia laughed and winked. "Oh, that ye would, I'm sure."

"Okay, okay, cut it out," Estel said, noting the deeply scandalized look on Sapphire's face.

Tia cast Cen another enticing look before turning away and looking over Sapphire and Rath. She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head, apparently trying to place them, but finally gave up.

"Well, can't say I've met ye before, but any friend of these two…" She gestured at Cen and Estel. "…gets a good welcome here."

"Th…thank you," Sapphire said faintly, at a bit of a loss about what to make of Tia's behavior.

"This is Sapphire," Estel said by way of introductions, "and the guy with the funny hat is Rath." Rath gave Estel a scathing look, but Estel ignored him. "We just finished comin' the long way from Cornelia, so if you could set us up with a few rooms, that'd be great."

Tia nodded. "Sure thing."

She stepped behind the counter, rummaged about underneath it for a moment, and drew out a small wooden box. She emptied a collection of mismatched keys from it onto the countertop and moved the oil lamp over so she could better see to sort through them.

"Thanks." Estel walked over and leaned against the counter. "We need your help with something else, too, if you wouldn't mind."

"'Course not," Tia said, looking up from the keys to smile at him. "What with?"

"With tellin' us what the hell's goin' on around here. I seen graveyards more lively than this."

"I bet ye have," Tia said, straightening up and scowling suddenly. "Seen th' new welcome wagons yet? Been smashin' ships and takin' their goods for weeks now."

"Yeah, we seen 'em," Estel said. "Know who they're workin' for?"

Tia nodded, folding her arms across her ample chest and leaning back against the wall. "Th' name 'Bikke' ring any bells with ye?" she asked, looking as though she already knew the answer.

All the color drained out of Estel's face.

"Bikke? _He's_ the one doin' all this?"

Tia gave a sardonic laugh. "Knew ye'd be pleased."

Estel was quiet for a moment, staring down at the countertop and breathing hard, his hands clenched. Sapphire looked rather confused, but Cen glanced warily at Estel and gave a sympathetic wince.

"Scratch what I asked," Estel said. "Just one room for all of us, Tia."

Rath looked suddenly mutinous at these words, and Sapphire gasped, looking scandalized again.

"But, Estel—!"

"One room," Estel repeated, speaking over Sapphire's protests.

Tia fished a key out of the pile in front of her and handed it to him. "There ye go. Th' best we got."

"Thanks." Estel handed the key to Cen. "You all go on back to the room. I'll be there in a second."

Cen nodded, clapped Estel bracingly on the shoulder, then turned and went through a doorway to the right. Sapphire and Rath followed him, casting affronted and scathing looks back at Estel as they went.

Estel turned back to Tia.

"When did he turn up?"

"Oh, he's been around for a while now," Tia said, sweeping the keys back into their box and stowing them beneath the counter. "All this mess just started up 'bout a month back, though." She leaned toward Estel, looking simultaneously worried and angry. "He's knocked over th' whole city, Estel. Got th' place right under his thumb."

Estel's mouth fell open.

"The whole… But, how?"

Tia shook her head. "Wish I could tell ye. All I know is, one day he starts struttin' 'round like he's th' gods' gift to th' world, orderin' his mates to go 'round and take everythin' that ain't nailed down. Not a word about it all from up th' Hall, no guards goin' after him about it, nothin'."

Estel dropped his head into his hands and stared down at the countertop. Tia put her hand on his shoulder, and after a moment he looked up at her, his jaw clenched.

"He hasn't come down around here, has he? If he's tried messin' with you, or—"

Tia just gave a derisive laugh.

"Aw, go on, Estel, think about that for a sec. He knows better'n to show his pocky face out 'round here; I'd shiver his timbers but good. Still," she added, "smart move, keepin' yer group together. He knew ye were here, I dunno what he'd do."

"Yeah, I know." Estel winced. "I sure do know."

"Go on back and catch some sleep," Tia said, giving his shoulder another shake before releasing it. "Worryin' about it now won't do ye no good."

"Yeah… Yeah, right…"

Looking vaguely pole-axed, Estel straightened up and left the entryway, going through the doorway Cen and the others had disappeared through before and which led to a narrow, dimly-lit corridor. Estel stopped at the first door on his left, opened it, and entered the room behind it.

His appearance brought an abrupt halt to the argument going on inside the chamber. In the center of the room, Cen, scowling, faced a furious-looking Rath while Sapphire stood nearby, watching them with vivid color in her face. Rath and Sapphire both still held their gear, but Cen had tossed his onto one of the four beds set in the corners of the room. All three combatants turned to face Estel as he entered, Cen looking somewhat relieved, but Rath and Sapphire's expressions not changing in the slightest.

"At last," Rath said, his voice dripping with venom. "I knew you lacked tact, but somehow I did not think you would go so far as to withhold the least modicum of privacy from others."

Estel slumped against the door.

"Look," he said, cutting in before Rath had a chance to really get going. "I'm sorry. Okay? That's the best I can do. This's just…it's just safer this way. 'Specially for you, Saph," he added, glancing at her.

Sapphire blinked in surprise, her irritation faltering. "Why?"

"Because…" Estel hesitated. "'Cause I know Bikke, and I know him and his boys aren't above just bargin' in places and carryin' off whatever they want. Or _whoever_ they want," he added bitterly.

"I tried to explain," Cen said, sitting down on the bed he had chosen. "Except Rath wouldn't let me get even half a word in." He shot a dirty look at Rath, which Rath ignored, not looking even the slightest bit sympathetic or willing to listen.

Sapphire somehow managed to look both confused and pitying.

"Estel, I don't… Could you please explain all this? I don't understand what's going on. How do you know this man?"

Estel did not look up from his irritated scrutiny of the dirty, worn floorboards as he replied. "Remember me sayin' it took a couple years after leavin' Cornelia for me to finally get to Crescent Lake? He's why."

He fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Dammit, I'm not gonna let him get away with this. Dirty, rotten, son of a—" He turned and kicked the door, muttering furious obscenities under his breath. He slung his pack onto the bed beside Cen's, then crossed to the window on the opposite side of the room, checking his daggers as he went.

Sapphire shot a questioning and slightly worried look at Cen. He just sighed in resignation and shook his head. Frowning, Sapphire turned instead to Estel just as he yanked open the shutters and swung his leg out over the sill.

"Estel, where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go find Bikke and cut off his—"

"Oh no, you're not," Cen said, looking suddenly stern. He stood, crossed to the window, and grabbed Estel by the back of his shirt, pulling him back into the room.

Estel yelped in protest. "Hey, lemme go!"

"No. I'm not going to let you go off and get yourself killed."

Estel looked both angry and deeply insulted. "I wouldn't get killed! I've faced up to him before!"

Cen gave him a dull look. "And think about how well _that_ worked out."

"It could've been worse!"

"Oh, right, of course. Huh…" Cen tapped his chin in mock-thoughtfulness. "Remind me, how long did it take that cleric to put you back together after?"

Estel glowered.

"C'mon, Cen, I gotta do _something_! He's knocked over the whole damn city, you don't expect me to just sit here—!"

"Yeah, I do."

"Cen!"

The pair stared at each other for a moment, Estel's expression thunderous, Cen's reproving. Finally, however, Cen sighed and released his hold on Estel's shirt. Estel backed away a step, straightening his shirt and vest.

"Don't go after him," Cen said. "Just go find out what's going on."

"Right," Estel muttered, checking his daggers again. "See you later." He climbed out the window and started off down the alley behind the inn, soon vanishing into the gloom of the evening.

Cen shut the window, then turned and went back to his bed, flopping down onto it with a slightly pained expression on his face. Rath had apparently decided to ignore this whole situation and now busied himself with arranging his own corner of the room. Sapphire, however, looked more worried than ever.

"Cen…" She hesitated, then approached the foot of his bed, tugging at the sleeves of her robes. "Can you please tell me what's going on? Why is Estel so upset?"

Cen sighed. "It's kind of complicated. See, Estel's mom…" He paused, trying to think of the most tactful word. "She was a prostitute. And I guess Bikke took a real liking to her, enough that he went out of his way to follow her out to Cornelia and kidnap her so he could…well, you know."

Sapphire's face could not possibly have gone a darker shade of red. She nodded, unable to look Cen in the eye.

"Right. Anyway," Cen continued, "the thing was, when he found her out there, she'd already had Estel. And he wasn't about to let Bikke and his crew take her away, but there wasn't really anything he could do about it since he was only about eight, so he ended up getting hauled along too. And, well…let's just say that Estel's got a real score to settle with Bikke over everything that happened during all those years on his ship."

Sapphire bit her lip, turning to look at the window.

"That's awful," she murmured. "And I was…I got angry at him, when he was just trying to…" She trailed off and dropped her gaze to the floor, blinking rapidly.

Cen's eyes widened a bit in alarm.

"Ah. Hey, Sapphire, don't be like that. Really. It's, I mean, you didn't know, so how could you have known to react like you did know? You know?" He seemed to realize how feeble his reassurances sounded, so he gave up, slumping back against his pillow with a frown.

"Look," he said, "let's just get some sleep. I'll keep an ear open for Estel, and in the morning we can work out what we're going to do next. Okay?"

Sapphire nodded. "Okay."

She crossed to the bed opposite Cen and began setting out her things. In the bed beside hers, Rath had already climbed beneath the covers, lying with his back to the others and with his hat still firmly in place on his head.


	7. Blood To Be Repaid

**Chapter 7: Blood to be Repaid**

In the early hours of the morning, before even the slightest hint of sunrise could be seen on the eastern horizon, a soft tapping broke the silence of the Light Warriors' room at The Bleeding Eye. After a moment, the tapping repeated, more insistently this time but no louder.

Inside the room, Cen woke with a snort.

He shook his head a couple of times, then got up and went to the window, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He pulled open the shutter and looked outside. Though most of the narrow alley lay in shadow, faint moonlight shone against the side of the inn, illuminating the weathered wood and the hunched figure slumped against it: Estel.

Cen gave a quiet sigh of relief.

"_There_ you are," he whispered. "What took you so long?"

"Stuff happened," Estel mumbled, his words slightly indistinct. He straightened up and winced. "Gimme a hand in, huh?"

Cen frowned, not liking the way Estel sounded, then reached out and took Estel's arm to help him as he hauled himself in through the window. Estel's hand slipped on the sill so that he almost fell; he gave a hiss of pain at this and another as he corrected his balance. Cen's frown deepened.

"You went after him, didn't you?"

Estel shook his head. With another wince, he finished climbing inside, staggering a bit as his feet touched the floor. Cen steadied him, but Estel shooed him away.

"I'm fine. Just lemme sit down."

Cen looked dubious but did release him. Estel moved over and dropped onto the end of Cen's bed with a groan. His breathing was uneven, and he held his left arm close to his side. In the dark of the room, his face could not be seen.

"So what did they do to you?" Cen asked, keeping his voice down to avoid waking Rath and Sapphire.

"Huh?"

Cen gave an exasperated sigh. "You're breathing like you have busted ribs or something. What happened?"

"I…got into a kinda mess and got roughed up a little," Estel said, his words still half-mumbled.

"How much is 'a little'?"

Estel muttered something inaudible in reply.

"Ah." Cen folded his arms. "So, not so much 'a little' as 'really bad'. Got it." He shook his head. "Don't move. I'll get Sapphire up to have a look."

Estel straightened up, making another quiet, pained sound as he did.

"Aw, Cen, don't. Just let her sleep."

Cen ignored him. He crossed to Sapphire's bed and bent over to gently shake her shoulder.

"Hey, Sapphire? Wake up."

Sapphire gave a tired little groan and rolled over to look up at Cen with sleep-blurred eyes.

"Cen?" she said at last, sitting up a little. "What is it?"

"Estel just got back, and he's in bad shape. Could you patch him up?"

At once, Sapphire sat up all the way and nodded. "Yes, of course," she said, her words punctuated by a yawn.

Cen stepped away from the bed as Sapphire swung her legs out and stood up, rubbing her eyes. She held one hand out in front of her and murmured a brief incantation, and a small, blue-white orb of light appeared above her palm, providing a dim sphere of illumination and casting shadows across the room. She followed Cen to his bed but stopped short, her eyes widening, as she saw Estel.

He looked awful. Blood oozed from his swollen, split lip, and he could not open his right eye thanks to the massive bruise covering it. He sat awkwardly, thanks to his broken ribs. His clothes were splattered with mud. He had tied his bandana around his upper left arm to cover another wound: blood had soaked the bandana all the way through and now trickled down his arm and dripped from his elbow onto the bedclothes.

Estel looked up at Sapphire rather guiltily.

"Sorry, Saph," he mumbled. "Didn't wanna wake you up."

"Of course you should have woken me!" Sapphire whispered, sounding affronted. "If you're hurt this badly…" She sat down beside him and began inspecting the damage to his face, her pale marshlight hovering just above her shoulder.

Cen remained standing, watching as Sapphire conducted her examination. He looked very rumpled, his wiry hair sticking out in every direction. He scratched his head, mussing his hair even worse, and frowned at Estel.

"So, if you didn't go after Bikke, how did this happen?"

Estel scowled. "Just went to find out what's goin' on, like you said. Mostly just found out that Bikke's paid off about every informer in the city, and that they don't like it much when people go askin' about their new boss." His foot started jigging restlessly.

Sapphire shushed him, and he fell silent as she began mending his eye and lip, sparkling blue-green light flowing like liquid from her fingertips. As the spell finished its work, Sapphire turned her attention to Estel's side, and Estel wiped the blood from his face.

Cen shook his head. "This just keeps getting better and better."

"Tell me about it," Estel muttered, then winced as Sapphire touched his side, checking to see what was broken. Another Cure spell, and Estel sat up straight with an audible sigh of relief. "Ah, I can breathe again…"

Sapphire frowned, pausing as she reached to untie Estel's bandana. "And those people…they did this to you for just _asking_ about Bikke?"

Estel nodded.

"That's horrible."

Sapphire fumbled with the knot, then finally got it undone and removed the bandana, revealing a jagged knife wound. She winced and quickly covered the gash with her hands, murmuring her Cure spell. Estel gritted his teeth as the muscles knitted back together and the skin sealed itself. After a moment, the only remaining evidence of the wound were the bloodstains on his arm and bandana.

"Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome." Sapphire hesitated, looking concerned. "Cen told me about…about why you're so upset about all this. I'm so sorry I got angry at you about things earlier. If I'd have known…"

Estel shrugged, his foot still tapping. "It's okay. Kinda figured you wouldn't like it, but…" He shrugged again. "Better'n what'd happen otherwise, huh?"

Sapphire nodded, averting her gaze.

"So, he's hushed up the whole city…" Cen shook his head, frowning. "Did you find out _anything_?"

"Nothing I didn't already hear from Tia, or that I couldn't figure out by myself." Estel picked up his bandana and absently began twisting it between his hands. "Best I got was hearin' where Bikke spends some of his time, so…" He looked at Cen.

Cen started to say something, then stopped and shook his head. "Where?"

"Over at The Burping Troll, mostly turns up around sunset. Cen, we gotta—"

"Yeah, I know," Cen said, lowering his voice a bit more and indicating Estel should do the same. "But we can't do anything until you've gotten some sleep. We'll head over there as soon as we're up tomorrow."

"Good."

"Oh, but…" Sapphire looked from Cen to Estel and back. "Shouldn't we…I mean, wouldn't it be better to wait until we're all awake to decide anything?"

She glanced at the bed in the opposite corner, where Rath's sleeping form could just be seen, the covers rising and falling a bit as he breathed. As Sapphire watched, he shifted and rolled over, pulling the blankets more tightly around himself. His hat did not show the slightest indication of potentially being dislodged from his head.

Cen looked over at Rath as well, then rolled his eyes.

"Why bother waiting for him? We already know what he'd say, and as far as I'm concerned he can take his complaints and stick them up his hat. He can't act like a jerk all the time and then expect us to care about what he thinks."

Sapphire frowned. "Cen, that's an awful thing to say."

"True, though," Estel put in.

Cen nodded, looking somewhat vindicated.

"Look," he said, as Sapphire continued to look offended on Rath's behalf. "Even if we did care, do you really think Estel's going to be talked out of this?"

"I… No, but—"

"Then there's no reason to talk about it. First thing tomorrow, we'll go."

Sapphire hesitated for a moment, glancing at Rath again.

"Would we _all_ go tomorrow? I mean, we…it would be better if more of us were there, wouldn't it?"

Cen and Estel exchanged looks.

"We were thinkin' just us would go, Saph," Estel said. "Since it's not anything to do with you or Rath."

"I don't know…" Cen frowned, folding his arms and looking thoughtful. "That's a good idea, about having more people there. Even if we can't outnumber Bikke's crew straight-up, more would be better than less."

Estel said nothing for a moment, continuing to twist his bandana. A few drops of blood fell from it and splattered against the floor.

"Right…" he said finally. "Yeah, okay."

Sapphire looked oddly relieved. "Exactly. There's also…I mean, I know you don't like him very much, but…" She glanced at Rath again, then back at the others. "Rath can be very helpful in a fight, so…"

Cen grimaced and cast Rath a dirty look. Estel, on the other hand, considered Sapphire's point, then he sighed and slumped down where he sat.

"Hate to say it, but that's a good point." He looked up at Cen. "'Cause, y'know, Bikke's never been the kind to keep a mage on his crew. It'd give us a leg up on him."

Cen opened his mouth to protest, then stopped and shook his head, scowling.

"Fine. Once _everyone's_ up tomorrow, we'll all go deal with this. Okay?"

Sapphire nodded. "All right. It…let's just get some sleep now. It's very late."

"Right," Estel said, and his expression became troubled. He glanced toward the window. "That sounds like a good idea."

He got to his feet and started toward his own bed, not bothered enough by the mud and blood covering him to do anything about them just then. Cen shut the window before crawling beneath his own covers. Sapphire cast another look at Rath before returning to her bed; as she sat down, she extinguished her marshlight, plunging the room back into darkness.

* * *

Cen's proposed plan, though simple, did not go very smoothly. Though Cen and Sapphire both woke early, they felt it would be better to let Estel sleep as long as he could, given his earlier ordeals. He finally woke just after ten o'clock, but even then they could not leave; apparently, Rath had decided to express his displeasure with the situation by refusing to get out of bed or speak to anyone rather than by complaining. He just lay there, covers pulled up to the top of his collar and his hat still on his head, with a look in his eyes that seemed to indicate that everyone in the world had done him some massive disservice and that he did not intend to move until this had been sufficiently remedied.

While Cen and Estel approved of Rath's silence as it meant he was not insulting them, they did not appreciate the delay he was causing by refusing to rise. Sapphire, on the other hand, was troubled by this even greater downswing in Rath's temperament, and even after all her attempts to coax him out of bed had failed, she continued to cast him worried looks and refused to let the group leave without him.

So, they waited. Cen went out to talk to Tia, but not before announcing to the others that they would leave as soon as he returned, regardless of whether Rath decided to come or not. Estel perched himself on the end of Cen's bed, one leg dangling to the floor and the other drawn up to his chest, and watched Sapphire as she stared out the window. She had taken advantage of the morning hours by going to wash her robes and have a bath, and she was now redoing her braid. The afternoon sunlight streaming in through the window struck her hair and made it shine as she wove the strands through her fingers.

Estel watched her do this with something of a vacant look on his face, his foot tapping out a restless, stacatto rhythm against the floor. After a moment, however, his brow furrowed slightly and he looked away.

Finally, Cen returned. Estel jumped and turned around as the door opened.

"What'd Tia have to say?"

"What I figured she'd say," Cen said, shrugging. "Not to do anything stupid, and to watch out for the guards."

"The guards?" Sapphire looked surprised. "Why?"

"Because, since they're not doing anything about Bikke, Tia thinks they might be on his side," Cen explained. "Maybe not all of them, but as many as he could bribe, like he did with the informers."

Sapphire frowned as she tried to digest this information. "Oh…"

"I really wanna know where he's gettin' all this money," Estel said, scowling.

Cen shrugged. "Anyway, are we ready to go take care of this?"

"Yes." Estel got to his feet at once. He started to move toward the door, but then he stopped and looked back at Sapphire as she rose, worry visible in his eyes.

"Er, except, I was thinkin' maybe Saph shouldn't come with us."

Sapphire froze, looking at Estel with wide eyes.

"You…want me to stay behind?"

Estel nodded. "Yeah. It'll be safer for you here. 'Cause, y'know, if things end up goin' screwy, I wouldn't want you bein' there where they could…do anything to you."

An uneasy silence fell. Sapphire stared down at the dirty floorboards and began picking at the edges of her sleeves, her face pale. Finally, she looked up at Estel.

"I…I can't stay behind."

Estel blinked in surprise. "What?"

Sapphire shook her head and took a few deep breaths before speaking again.

"I can't. I mean, I…I do appreciate you wanting to protect me, but…if things did start to go badly, and I was there…I would be able to help, wouldn't I? I mean, if one of you got wounded…" She looked down at her hands. "I know you're right, and…and that it would be safer for me to stay here, but…if something happened, and my being there could have kept it from happening, I would feel awful for having stayed behind."

Estel opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, then turned to Cen, puzzled. Cen just shrugged and looked equally confused in response. Estel shook his head and looked back at Sapphire.

"I don't think you really know what you're sayin', Saph."

Sapphire did not look up from her hands.

"I just…I don't want to risk any of you getting hurt. And as…as long as you're all there, I won't be worried about anything happening to me."

Estel was quiet for a moment, struggling with himself, then he sighed.

"Okay, fine. I don't like it, but if that's really what you wanna do, I guess I won't stop you. Just…let's just be careful, okay?"

Sapphire looked up and nodded.

"Okay then," Cen said. "That's us three in." He looked over at Rath. "How about you? Are you coming, or are you just going to keep lying there?"

Rath gave a surly grunt. While, admittedly, this was the largest response he had given to anything all day, it hardly communicated anything useful. Cen rolled his eyes.

"Would it kill you to actually _answer_ instead of just making noises? What's your problem?"

Rath did not reply.

Estel muttered something rude under his breath and shook his head. "Fine. Let him sulk. Not like we can't take care of this without him."

He crossed to the door, and he and Cen started to leave the room. As they did, however, Rath pushed back his covers and sat up. He took his staff from where he had propped it up in the corner, stood, and started toward the door as well.

Cen and Estel exchanged bemused glances.

"Just goin' for makin' no sense at all today, huh?" Estel asked.

Rath gave him a chillingly blank, flat look which somehow managed to be more disturbing than any number of furious glares. He brushed past Cen and Estel and left the room, his footsteps echoing dully along the corridor.

Cen raised an eyebrow. "Okay…"

Estel just shook his head. "Whatever. Let's get goin'."

* * *

Tia saw the group off from the inn, promising to have some of her friends on the lookout for trouble around The Burping Troll. At Estel's insistence, they took a very meandering course across the city in an attempt to avoid detection. They avoided the main thoroughfares whenever possible, instead keeping to the smaller side-streets and alleys, where the tall, narrow buildings seemed to loom over them. Estel led the way, and he became more and more on edge the farther they progressed, starting at small noises and looking around with suspicion. He stayed close by Sapphire's side, keeping one hand at her elbow as though guiding her along. Sapphire kept glancing at his hand, puzzled, but said nothing. Cen followed just behind them, his hand on the hilt of his sword, and Rath brought up the rear, looking decidedly uncaring.

The Burping Troll stood at the opposite side of the city from The Bleeding Eye, in a very run-down slum. Many of the buildings in the area had barely enough structural integrity to remain standing, and all seemed to have been thoroughly ransacked by Bikke's crew. Garbage lay strewn across the streets. The square in which The Burping Troll stood, though quite large, was very poorly kept, the cobbles broken, upturned, and stained by things no doubt better left unidentified. The pub itself looked little better, its walls splintery and the paint peeling off the sign above its crooked door. Smoky light shone blearily through the pub's dirty windows. The faint rotting smell the companions had noticed upon their arrival in the city hung even more heavily in the air here.

The companions stopped at the end of an alley that led out into the square, which lay in shadows cast by the setting sun. Estel surveyed the scene with narrowed eyes, his hand still on Sapphire's elbow. A few shadowy figures slumped against the pub's walls and sprawled on the cobbles out front, too intoxicated to move. Raucous laughter and off-key singing came from inside the filthy pub.

"Dammit," Estel muttered. "He ain't out front."

"I guess we'll have to go inside and look for him," Cen said, frowning.

Estel snorted. "What, and let 'em corner us in there? Like hell."

"Well, what else can we do?"

Estel began to reply, but he broke off at the sound of a commotion from the opposite side of the square.

A rowdy group of about eleven men emerged from a wide side-street, jostling and shoving one another as they made for the pub. At their head, shoving harder and laughing louder than any of the others, walked a broad-shouldered, paunchy man wearing a distinctive but ill-kept long coat and plumed hat. He sported a dirty black beard, and a black eyepatch covered his left eye.

Estel snarled and stomped out into the square. Cen and Sapphire started after him, Cen taking up Estel's position at Sapphire's side. Rath trailed along behind them.

Bikke and his crew were halfway to the pub, some of the more inebriated pirates stumbling over the broken cobbles, when Estel called out:

"_Bikke_! What the _hell_ are you doin' here?!"

This shout caused an ungainly collision as half the pirates stopped to see who had yelled and the other half tried to continue on to the pub. Bikke himself remained undisturbed by this accident, his girth such that none of his crewmembers could have unsteadied him even if they had tried. He just turned and clouted the ones within his immediate reach to resume order.

"What's all that about, eh? Ye ain't as blind as all that yet, ye—" He broke off abruptly as he looked up and spotted Estel approaching. He squinted, trying to make out Estel's features in the hazy evening light, then his good eye widened in shock. He quickly overcame this, though, and covered up the moment by laughing.

"Well, now ain't that somethin'! 'Ere, lads, look who it is: our little scarecrow, come back t' say hello!"

The pirates turned to look as they sorted themselves out. Unpleasant grins spread over many of their faces as they realized who had hailed them, and a few began to laugh. Bikke watched beadily as Estel came to a halt a few feet away, the other companions stopping just behind him. Cen moved to hide Sapphire from Bikke's view.

"Well there," Bikke said with pompous joviality, "didn't ever figure on seein' ye again, lad."

Estel glowered. "Didn't answer my question. What're you doin' here?"

"Takin' advantage of a rare opportunity," Bikke said, and he gave a hideous grin, revealing several gold teeth. "Ye can do grand things when ye got friends in high places, lad. That's a good lesson t' be learnin'." He laughed, and his crew joined in.

"Yeah, I'll bet," Estel said through clenched teeth. "Wanna hear another one? If you go and knock over a town, there's a damn good chance the people livin' in it won't like what you done. And maybe they won't like it enough that they'll wanna do something about it."

This just made Bikke laugh harder. "That's rich, lad! An' I suppose ye be thinkin' ye'll be th' one t' do that, eh?"

"Damn right. Me and my pals could wipe the floor with the whole lot of you."

Bikke just roared with laughter at this, while his crew, chuckling nastily, started to move; nine began spreading out and surrounding the Light Warriors, while the tenth bolted off down a nearby alley. The companions watched all this preparation with varying degrees of alarm.

Finally, Bikke managed to get control of himself. "Ah, lad. Ye must have cannon balls of steel t' be makin' a claim like that. Or don't ye remember who came off worse th' last time we had one o' these little chats?"

"Looks like you did," Estel said coolly. "Least I still got all my parts."

"Ye'll be meanin' this, then?" Bikke lifted his eyepatch, revealing a tangled knot of scar tissue where his left eye should have been. Another scar extended from the mess, up into his eyebrow and down a short distance onto his cheek. He let the patch snap back into place. "Ye do good work, I'll give ye that. But if we be takin' in the whole score, I think I got ye beat by a good number." He gave a nasty smile.

Angry color began to creep into Estel's face. Before he could retort, however, one of the pirates gave a gleeful shout.

"Aw, 'e's bluffin', Cap'n!" he crowed. "'E's come to make nice with ye an' all. See 'ere, 'e's even brought ye a present!"

Estel's eyes widened and he spun around. "What? No!"

The pirates had spotted Sapphire. Cen moved to shield her as much as he could, but while his intimidating presence kept the pirates at bay, it did nothing to stop their obscene chorus of whistles and catcalls. Sapphire cringed, the color draining from her face as she tried to hide from the men's eyes. Estel immediately went to her side, shielding her like Cen was and glowering around at Bikke's crew.

"Shut up! Leave her alone, all of you! _I said shut up_!"

He may as well have remained silent for all the good his protests did. The pirates just added laughter to their crude barrage. Bikke joined in with them, a leer spreading across his face as he looked over Sapphire's figure.

"Ah, that be right thoughtful of ye. It do get lonesome on them long nights at sea, don't it, lads?"

The men bellowed their agreement, their replies interspersed with continued laughing and whistling. Estel's face flushed.

"You better shut the hell up, Bikke, or I'll—!"

"Ye'll what?" Bikke asked, removing his gaze from Sapphire and focusing on Estel's face instead. "Take on me whole crew an' run me outta town? Ain't a chance o' that happenin', lad; yer lot ain't even a quarter mine. Unless ye be meanin' fer them lasses t' be fightin' too."

Estel opened his mouth to retort but faltered in confusion at Bikke's last comment. It took that to realize Sapphire was not the only one attracting whistles and lewd comments; Rath drew them as well, his indeterminate appearance working against him, and a dull blaze of anger appeared in his eyes. Estel's bemused pause just seemed to affirm what Bikke had said, making the pirate captain laugh uproariously.

"Ah, yer a sight, lad, a real sight! Why don't ye just give up now and save yerself the trouble? Me an' th' lads'll take real good care of yer little friends there." The leer returned to his face, making him look deeply sinister in the half-light of the evening.

Estel's hands went to his daggers. "Like hell you will."

Bikke shook his head. "Now don't be doin' that. Think about it, lad; yer fightin' never did ye or yer mum no good, so how d'you figure it'll be helpin' now?"

With a cry of rage, Estel lunged at Bikke.

At once, two pirates rushed in and siezed Estel by the arms, jerking him to a halt. He strained to escape their grip, but a third pirate halted his struggles by punching him hard in the gut. Estel doubled over, wheezing, while Bikke stood back and laughed.

"Ye never learn, do ye? Keelhaul 'em, boys!"

The crewman readied another blow but did not get a chance to land it: Cen joined the fight, wrenching Estel out of the pirates' grasp and slamming his fist into the attacking pirate's face. The man reeled, clutching his nose and howling in pain, and so could not defend against Cen's next blows: a punch to the stomach and the head in quick succession. The pirate went down, his head hitting the cobbles with a nasty crack. The other two pirates rounded on Cen, drawing their cutlasses. Cen just smirked, drew his longsword, and adopted an attack stance.

Cen's departure left Rath and Sapphire unshielded, and the remaining pirates descended on them. Sapphire cringed away with a cry, too alarmed to defend herself, as one man moved to grab her around the waist. Estel, struggling to regain his breath, immediately scrambled up as he heard her scream; his dagger flashed in the light from the pub as he charged into the mob of pirates.

"Get _away_!"

He yanked the pirate back and stabbed him at the base of his throat. The pirate toppled, his blood spewing over the ground. Estel grabbed Sapphire by the arm and pulled her to him, away from the pirates' grasping hands. Two of the pirates turned in pursuit, but the other three remained intent on Rath.

The two pirates facing Cen swung their cutlasses down at him with bellowed battle cries. Cen deflected the blows with scarcely any effort, and as the pirates prepared for another attack, he brought his sword around in a double-handed swing, striking one pirate in the head with the flat of the blade and knocking him to the ground, unconscious. The second pirate tried to use this as an opportunity to land a strike, but before he could even come close to completing his swing, Cen turned and caught the pirate's blade against his own.

One of the pirates surrounding Rath reached out and grabbed his arm, and at this, the smoldering anger in Rath's eyes flared up. He jerked his arm free, then swung his staff around and slammed it into the pirate's side. The pirate staggered with a grunt of pain, and before he could recover, he fell to the ground, Rath's knife embedded in the base of his skull. Rath spun around to face the other two pirates, a furious and unsettling blaze in his eyes.

"Do _not_ touch me," he snarled, sparks flying from his fingers.

The two pirates looked surprised for only a moment before changing tacks: they drew their swords and met Rath's sudden assault with one of their own.

Estel pushed Sapphire behind him as their pursuers advanced on them. The first pirate to reach them tried a broad swing with his cutlass but stumbled over an upturned cobblestone, sending his blow askew and bringing him close enough to Estel to receive a knee to the groin. Before the pirate could even fully react to this, Estel stabbed him, once, twice, three times, and he fell to the ground with a faint gurgle. The second pirate attacked before Estel could turn, slashing down in a vicious overhand stroke. The attack should have sliced deep into Estel's back, but instead there was a flash of golden light and the blade ricocheted away; Sapphire murmured rapidly under her breath, her eyes squeezed shut and her hand outstretched as she cast a protective barrier around Estel. The pirate swore as the impact jarred his sword from his grip, but he did not have long to lament the loss; Estel turned, scooped up the fallen cutlass, and rammed it through the man's stomach. He jerked the sword free, the pirate's body crumpling to the ground, and then he spun around to point the blade at Bikke, whose look of amusement had faded as he watched the fight.

"Your turn, Bikke! Come on!"

Estel leapt toward the pirate captain. Unfortunately, Bikke's dismay did nothing to dull his wits or his reflexes; as Estel reached him, he drew a scimitar, and the two blades met with a crash.

Cen's last opponent attacked with furious swiftness, forcing Cen to remain on the defensive. Yet Cen still had him overmatched, blocking and evading the blows without hesitation, as if he knew what the pirate would do before he did it. The pirate feinted left, but Cen did not fall for the bluff; before the pirate could complete the attack, Cen went on the offensive, going for the pirate's unprotected side. Startled, the pirate stumbled backward, bringing his blade around to block Cen's sword, but the cutlass stood no chance. A clash of steel, and the cutlass flew from its owner's hand and skittered away across the cobblestones. Cen's longsword hit the pirate's side with a sickening, wet thud, leaving a deep gouge and throwing the pirate to the ground in a bloody heap.

The two pirates facing Rath easily blocked the swipe from his staff and pushed it away, making him stagger. Before he could recover his balance, the pirates lunged at him; eyes still blazing, he caught one man in the stomach with the end of his staff, making him drop back, coughing. The other pirate raised his cutlass for an overhand strike. Rath brought his staff up to block but miscalculated the angle; the cutlass slid along the edge of the wood before hitting its target, cutting through Rath's sleeve and slicing a long, deep gash in his arm. Rath recoiled, dropping his staff with a hiss of pain as blood spurted from the wound. The pirate, now grinning nastily, brought his sword back to deliver the finishing stroke.

Rath's uninjured hand shot out and seized the pirate's throat. The pirate gave a brief laugh, confident Rath did not have the strength to choke him, but his mirth vanished as Rath's grip tightened and smoke began to ooze from between his fingers. The pirate dropped his sword and clawed at Rath's hand in a panic, but to no avail; he opened his mouth to scream, but all that came forth was a gout of smoke and flame. He thrashed for a moment, then went still, and Rath shoved the body away, a gaping, charred hole where the throat used to be. The remaining pirate watched this with horror, and before he could turn to flee, a bolt of lightning shot from Rath's still smoking palm, striking him square in the face. The pirate fell to the ground, convulsing violently.

Now, only Bikke and Estel remained in motion, locked in furious combat. Estel's speed gave him some advantage, but not much; even with all his bulk, Bikke was surprisingly spry, and he had Estel bested in both strength and reach. The pair traded blow for blow, sparks flying as their blades clashed and parted over and over. Bikke executed a vicious strike, forcing Estel backward; Estel stumbled on a broken cobble, almost falling. Bikke swung again, just as fierce, and Estel ducked and tumbled out of the way, immediately jumping back to his feet and coming at Bikke from the side. Bikke turned and caught Estel's blade against his own, pressing hard against it to prevent Estel from freeing the sword for a new assault. Though Estel struggled to hold his ground, Bikke's strength was too much, and Estel began to drop back, inch by inch.

"No… No, dammit, not again… Not _again_!"

Almost too fast to see, Estel swung his dagger up and slashed Bikke's hand. Bikke gave a bellow of pain and recoiled, and Estel pressed the advantage; dropping his dagger and gripping his cutlass with both hands, he smashed his blade against Bikke's. The impact jarred the sword from Bikke's weakened grip.

Bereft of his weapon, Bikke seemed suddenly unable to find any humor in the situation. He backed away as Estel advanced on him.

"Arr…now, don't be hasty here, lad…"

"'Hasty', my ass." A nasty smile slid onto Estel's face. "I've been waitin' for this for a long time, Bikke."

Bikke continued to back away, stumbling over one of his fallen crewmembers. Estel, looking almost ghoulish splattered with blood that was not his own, followed him, and Cen moved to converge on him as well. Bikke paled behind his thick beard.

"Come on, lads, let's be reasonable…"

"Reasonable? _Reasonable_?!" Estel's eyes blazed. "You _had_ your chance to be reasonable, you bastard! Shoulda thought of that when you smashed into our house!"

Bikke swallowed hard. "Ye…ye're right. Them were some awful things I done to ye. Ye got every right t' run me through right now."

"Glad you agree." Estel pointed his cutlass straight at Bikke's chest.

Before he could strike, a whistle echoed out across the square. Another whistle followed it. Estel hesitated, glancing around in confusion. Cen, on the other hand, looked suddenly tense. He reached out and grabbed Estel's arm.

"Come on. We have to get out of here."

Estel stared at him. "What?"

"The guards are coming, Estel, we can't let them find us here or—"

At the sound of the word 'guards', Bikke's trepidation vanished, and his expression became smug and confident once more. Estel rounded on him.

"You ain't gettin' outta this! Cen, let _go_!"

He tried to jerk himself free, but Cen's grip was too strong.

"Estel, _no_. We have to leave, or they'll catch us."

Furious, Estel opened his mouth to protest, but just then the sound of footsteps came from down a nearby side-street, and a company of a dozen lightly-armored guards marched into the square. The pirate who had fled before the fight accompanied them.

"There!" he said, pointing at Cen and Estel. "Just like I told ye. We weren't doin' nothin', an' then this lot comes in an' starts all this. Look what they done!"

The leader of the guards, distinguished by his slightly more elaborate armor, looked around at the scene with something akin to shock. Though the sky was dim, the light spilling from the pub gave more than enough illumination to see the fallen pirates and the fresh blood that slicked the cobblestones. After a moment, the guard looked over at Bikke.

"Do you want us to take care of this for you, boss?"

"_No_!" Estel spun around and lunged at Bikke, moving so suddenly that Cen only just reacted in time, grabbing Estel's arms and holding him back. "You bastard!"

Bikke's his former swagger returned full-force. "_Rich_ bastard, ye mean. A million gil does a fine lot o' talkin', don't it?"

"Shut up! You ain't gettin' away with this, you—"

Bikke's laughter drowned out Estel's continued insults and threats.

"Ah, now that be mighty harsh of ye, lad, talkin' like that." A glint appeared in Bikke's eye. "Ye oughta show a little respect t' yer ol' dad, aye?"

"_Son of a bitch_!"

Estel lunged forward at Bikke, murderous fury blazing in his eyes. Cen only barely managed to hold him back, surprised by the amount of effort it took to do so. Bikke took a step backward, but he quickly rallied and laughed again.

"Think what ye want, but ye ain't proved me wrong yet." He waved to the guards. "Come take 'em, lads! Ye'll be gettin' an extra cut fer doin' this."

The guards started forward, but before they could go more than three paces, a fireball erupted in front of them. They jumped back in alarm, a sentiment that changed to fear as they saw what had caused the sudden combustion:

Rath stepped forward to block their path, hand extended and ready to cast another spell, the air around him crackling with barely restrained magical energy. Flames danced between his fingers. His wounded arm hung at his side, fire and blood dripping from his limp hand like macabre rain. His widened eyes seemed to glow, the furious and frantic expression in them giving him the look of a madman.

"You will go no further."

The guards hesitated, torn between self-preservation and greed. A few started forward again, but as soon as they did, a stream of flames shot from Rath's outstretched palm, striking the oncoming men. They recoiled, screaming in alarm and pain, and their comrades hurried to extinguish the fire.

"You will go no further," Rath repeated.

"I'd listen to him, if I were you," Cen called over to the guards.

Estel paid only the scantest attention to all this. He strained to escape Cen's grip, shouting curses and insults at Bikke, who had faltered again as his backup plan was thwarted. Cen kept Estel restrained, however, and he turned to Bikke as well.

"It looks like you have a problem right now, Bikke," he said calmly, raising his voice so he could be heard over Estel's swearing.

Bikke gave a hollow laugh. "Oh, ye think so? Do what ye want; I paid them guards off proper, an' they'll have ye swingin' if ye lay a hand on me. Yer friend can't keep that fire show goin' ferever."

"Us swingin' won't stop you bein' _dead_!" Estel shouted. He flung himself forward, and Cen's grip slipped just enough to let him gain a few inches. Bikke flinched away, then tried to compose himself and look as though nothing had happened.

"You have a choice to make," Cen said. "You can keep standing there and see if you can wait out our mage, but if you do that, then I'm just going to let Estel go."

Estel took his ranting up a notch.

"Or," Cen continued, "you can give us a really, _really_ good reason to go away and just leave you alone. And if it's not a reason we like, I'll let Estel go anyway. Me and the mage might just join in too. It's up to you."

Bikke did not answer right away, seeming to be seriously considering what Cen had said. After a few moments, however, Cen rolled his eyes and slackened his grip on Estel's arms, letting Estel lunge toward Bikke again. Bikke jerked away, slipping a bit on the blood-slicked cobbles.

"All right, I got ye! Ye can…" He did some very quick thinking. "Ye can have me ship! All the loot in 'er, too. Can't say fairer than that, eh?"

"Your _ship_?" Estel looked both furious and insulted. "You think you can make up for all that shit you pulled by stickin' us with that garbage scow?"

"Not that!" Bikke said hurriedly. "I meant me new ship. Name's th' _Charybdis_, an' she's th' quickest ship in the Aldean. Couldn't go faster if Leviathan hisself was pullin' ye."

"Good start," Cen said. "What else?"

"Else?" Bikke looked startled. His eye darted around, as though he hoped an answer would suddenly appear in the air before him. "I'll send off me guards. Ye won't hear a word about none 'o this again. And…an' hell, I'll even go straight if ye say so, be a model citizen an' all that shite. Come on, lads…" His eye flicked from Cen to the enraged Estel and back, and sweat began to trickle down his face.

Judging by Estel's renewed ranting, he did not consider this to be adequate compensation. Cen, however, considered Bikke's offer for a moment, then nodded.

"Fine. We'll have people keep an eye on you to make sure you actually do all that. Now…" He jerked his head toward a side-street. "You have ten seconds to get somewhere where we can't see you. Take your guard buddies with you, and don't forget to come back later and clean up the mess you made."

"Aye, whatever ye say." Bikke gestured to the guards. "Ye heard the lads. None o' this here happened, an' we was just leavin'." He left the dark square as quickly as he could, the guards following him and looking very glad to get away from Rath.

Silence fell, broken only by the faint crackle of flames and the ruckus coming from the pub; the din going on inside had not been disturbed in the slightest by the fight. As soon as Bikke and the guards disappeared, Rath's hand fell to his side, the fire extinguished itself, and he fell heavily to the ground, hunched over and breathing hard.

Cen looked down at Estel.

"Can I let you go?"

After a tense pause, Estel nodded. Cen released Estel's arms and stepped back. Estel straightened up, quiet for a moment, then, with a scream of frustration, he flung the cutlass away from him as hard as he could; it pinwheeled through the air before falling and skipping over the cobblestones.

"Gods dammit!"

Cen did not even flinch.

"Yeah, I know," he said. "I'm sorry. But what else could we do? At least we got some fear into him; that's better than you've been able to do before."

"I _know_, but—"

"You might think that dying would be an okay price for getting to kill him," Cen interrupted. "But we have other things to do that you need to be alive for. Besides," he added, "how could you find her again if you wind up at the end of a rope now?"

Estel calmed down at once as Cen said this, his expression all but unreadable in the half-light of the evening.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

"That _does_ happen sometimes," Cen said with a slightly self-deprecating smile. "Come on. Go get Sapphire, and we'll head back to Tia's."

"Right…"

Estel started across the bloodstained square, picking his way around the dead and wounded pirates and squinting through the advancing darkness to see where Sapphire had gone. He finally spotted her, huddled by a rickety building a fair distance away from the scene of the fight. He made his way over to her.

"Saph…"

Sapphire started, looking up at him with wide eyes. All the color had left her face, and she looked as though she had just been sick. Though she hugged herself tightly, it did not stop her trembling.

"I don't…I don't think I should have come…"

Estel opened his mouth, perhaps to agree with this, then closed it and shook his head. "Nothing we can do about that now. Let's just get outta here, okay? You look like you're about to fall over."

There was a pause, then Sapphire nodded. "Are…are the others all right?"

"I think so," Estel said. "Well, I think Rath did his 'running out of magic' thing, 'cause he just fell over, but other than that…" He trailed off and shrugged. "Thanks for that Protect there, by the way. Saved me some pretty bad hurt."

Sapphire did not reply. She swallowed hard. "The way you were fighting…all of you, it…" Her complexion went a bit green. "How can you do that to people?"

Estel glanced away, looking troubled, then turned back to Sapphire.

"They deserved it, Saph. After everything they did, they _all_ deserved it. I wouldn't've gotten like that if they didn't."

Sapphire nodded, though the slightly sickened look did not leave her face.

Before Estel could speak again, Cen called to them from across the square.

"Get over here, you guys. We have a problem."

Estel and Sapphire glanced at each other, then hurried over to where Cen knelt beside Rath. The problem became apparent the instant they arrived.

Rath had not collapsed from overusing his magic. He still sat upright, his eyes now half-closed, his breathing rapid and shallow. His wounded arm lay in his lap, and he did not seem to notice the others' presence.

Sapphire gasped and dropped down next to him.

"Rath! What happened?"

Rath gave her a bleary look. He hardly seemed concerned by the blood drenching his robes.

"I have seen worse," he said, his vague tone a far cry from his usual snappish one.

Sapphire pressed her lips tightly together, looking as though she was about to cry. "That doesn't matter. This is…this is bad enough…" She blinked rapidly a few times, then drew a deep breath and held her hand out over Rath's arm, murmuring her Cure spell. The wound began to close.

Rath looked almost offended by this, staring at his arm as though it had somehow betrayed him. Sapphire cast her spell again, and more green light flowed from her hand and over Rath's arm. The wound sealed completely, and some color returned to his skin. His breathing became more steady.

"I should…I should have been paying closer attention," Sapphire said, her lower lip starting to tremble. "This shouldn't have happened."

"Saph, don't," Estel said, trying to sound reassuring. "It's okay, really. There's only one of you, and three of us; no way you could watch all of us all the time. You did the best you could."

"I…I know, but… I still should have noticed this sooner, I…" Sapphire put her hand to her mouth, and a few tears escaped from her eyes. "He's lost so much blood…"

Cen looked away in discomfort, trying to distract himself by wiping his sword clean. Rath gave Sapphire another bleary look, trying to work out what exactly she found so upsetting. Estel put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," he said again. "Nothing a potion or two can't help fix, huh?"

Sapphire nodded but did not look any less upset. Estel patted her shoulder, then got to his feet.

"C'mon, let's get outta here. We can finish fixin' Rath up back at Tia's."

He helped Sapphire up as she wiped her eyes, then he glanced at Cen. "Can you get him?"

Cen scowled but nodded. "Yeah, sure." He picked up Rath, who looked vaguely irritated at needing to be carried again, and the four companions left the square, leaving the pirates for their captain to take care of later.


	8. To The Rescue

**Chapter 8: To the Rescue**

The next day, shortly before noon, the Light Warriors left The Bleeding Eye and made their way out to the docks to examine their new ship. The town already seemed more lively than it had upon their arrival; news of Bikke's downfall had spread quickly thanks to Tia's friends. A few ships had even trickled into port, the blockade having been disbanded during the night.

None of this, however, did anything to put Estel in a good mood. He stood on the dock, his arms folded across his chest, and surveyed the ship Bikke had given them.

"This ain't his ship," he said, frowning. "He's havin' us on."

Cen glanced at him, then turned back to look at the ship. "I don't know. He didn't seem to be in the kind of mood to make jokes when he gave it to us."

The ship in question was the smaller one the companions had seen when they had first arrived in Pravoka, the one that looked, at a distance, like a cutter. This turned out not to be the case; in actuality, the vessel was a small longship with a shallow keel and a high, dragon-headed prow. It sported a single mast and sail, with any additional speed to be provided, judging by the benches on the deck and the oar-holes in the sides, by rowers. Near the bow, elegant lettering proclaimed the ship's name: _Charybdis_.

Estel's frown deepened, and he walked down to look the ship over from front to back. The other three watched him, though Sapphire kept glancing at the ship, looking confused. The water, dull grey in reflection of the heavily overcast sky, lapped placidly at the vessel's sides, the sound mixing with the rumble of movement from other docks and with the screeching of gulls.

"I fail to see what you find so troubling," Rath said after a moment. Despite the events of the previous evening, he had still risen and insisted on going out to the docks with the others. He looked a bit wilted in his torn and stained robes, though, and he leaned heavily on his staff for support.

Estel glanced over at Rath, then shook his head and scowled.

"Because Bikke's ship's a shitty old galleon called the _Barnacle_, not anything like this." He shook his head again. "Bet he stole this and is gonna try and get us pinned with doin' it," he muttered under his breath. "Bastard."

Cen gave a slightly exasperated sigh. "Let's at least go onboard and look around. If it _is_ a set-up, Rath can just go crazy at them again and we'll be fine."

Rath gave Cen a deeply unflattering look.

Estel's gaze swept the ship once more, his eyes narrowed, then he nodded.

"Yeah, okay. Gotta check to make sure he didn't rig it to sink on us or anything." He made his way up the gangplank, and the others followed him.

That the ship neither sank nor exploded when the group set foot on it seemed to encourage Estel a bit. He looked around, taking in the nigh-pristine appearance of the vessel with grudging respect. Cen walked over to examine the tiller, while Rath and Sapphire remained standing amidships, Sapphire still looking puzzled and Rath with a shadow of his usual less-than-amused expression as he stared out from beneath his hat.

"Well, Estel?" Cen said, leaning against the tiller and watching his friend scrutinize the ship. "Do we take it?"

"I…guess so," Estel said, his frown fading slightly. "Still gotta check the hold, though." He kicked at the hatch leading below deck.

"Ah." Cen straightened up. "And that's my job, as usual."

Sapphire glanced at Cen, then at Estel. "Why is that his job?"

"'Cause I don't go below deck," Estel said, casting the hatch a dark look. "'Specially on any ship of Bikke's." He bent and pulled open the hatch, revealing a short ladder leading down into the hold, then stepped back quickly. "There you go, pal," he said, looking over at Cen. "Go see what he stuck us with."

"Cut that out," Cen said, smiling a bit as he walked over. "You know I hate being the cheerful one. Besides, maybe there's actually something good down there."

Estel snorted. "Ten gil says there isn't."

"I'll see that."

Cen began to descend the ladder, and once he had disappeared into the hold, Sapphire moved to follow him. Estel glanced at her in surprise.

"You wanna look too?"

Sapphire nodded. "I just…want to see what's down there. I'm curious."

"Fair enough." Estel sat down on a bench near the hatchway, watching Sapphire as she descended into the dim space below the deck. "Be careful, though."

Sapphire stepped off the ladder and looked around, squinting a bit in the darkness. As far as its condition, the hold matched the rest of the ship, looking as though it had scarcely been used. Crates and barrels occupied some of the cramped space, scattered around without any apparent order, along with piles of rope and other loose supplies. A few empty bottles lay abandoned in odd corners.

Conjuring a marshlight, which threw stark shadows on the inside of the hull, Sapphire stepped over beside Cen, who was also giving the contents of the hold a cursory examination. He looked down at her as she came to a halt.

"I bet it's not what you expected, right?"

Sapphire shook her head. "I thought it would be…dirtier."

Cen laughed. "Yeah. We're lucky he didn't have this for very long, or it would have been." He looked around. "Well, let's go see what kind of loot we got out of this."

He started to make his way through the clutter, Sapphire following him and holding up her light so they could see. They left most of the crates and barrels alone, as they were clearly empty. Of more interest, once Cen spotted them, were the three chests clustered at the bow, half-concealed by a jumble of crates.

Cen looked quite pleased with himself.

"I knew there would be something," he said. "Come on."

He went over to the chests and knelt down in front of them. Instead of needing a key, each had some kind of combination lock on its front, requiring a set of symbols to be set in the correct order to undo the latch. Judging by the sword marks on the chests' heavy lids, the pirates had been at a loss on how to open them.

Cen ran his thumb along one of the gouges and shook his head.

"As sharp as a blunt axe, these guys…"

"Why?" Sapphire asked, looking puzzled.

"Because you don't use a _sword_ on a chest that won't open," Cen said, as though this should have been obvious. He got to his feet. "Here, I'll show you what you _should_ do. Let me see your hammer for a second."

Sapphire removed her hammer from her belt and handed it to Cen. He took it and gestured for her to step back before turning back to the chests. He lined up his shot, then swung the hammer back and smashed it into the front of a chest as hard as he could, making the chest wobble and Sapphire jump. There was a crunch and the groan of bending metal, and when Cen drew the hammer back, the now very broken lock swung down and sagged out of its fittings. Cen delivered another blow to make certain, then rested the hammer back against his shoulder and kicked open the chest's lid. He turned back to Sapphire, who looked more than a little surprised.

"That's a good thing to know if you're going adventuring," he said. "A hammer's a pretty good weapon, but it's also a pretty good lockpick."

Sapphire nodded, still looking a bit stunned. "Yes, I see. You…you're very good with that. Maybe you should use that hammer instead."

Cen shook his head. "Estel bought it for _you_; he'd get upset if you gave it away."

"Oh… Could you, I mean, would you mind teaching me how to use it, then? I'd be hopeless if I just tried to learn on my own."

Cen stared at Sapphire as though she had begun speaking a foreign language.

"You want _me_ to teach you?"

Sapphire nodded.

"I don't know, Sapphire. I'm not any good at that kind of thing, at all."

"What do you mean? You're better at fighting than any of the rest of us."

"Well, yeah, I guess so… But, that isn't what I meant. I'm…" Cen paused, looking embarrassed. "Look, I just wouldn't be any good at helping you learn that stuff."

Sapphire frowned a bit in concern.

"_I_ think you'd be a good teacher."

"…You do?"

Sapphire nodded.

Cen looked surprised. After a moment, his expression shifted to a more confident one, and he smiled.

"All right, then. Okay, sure, I'll help teach you."

Sapphire smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem." Cen turned and got ready to smash open another chest. "One thing it would be good for you to work on," he said, "is to not fall apart so much at the start of a fight." He swung the hammer and hit the lock with a crash. "It's just because you're not used to that kind of thing, but when someone comes at you…" Another swing. "…well, pulling back and looking like you're about to faint doesn't really do a lot to stop them." He smashed the lock off the third chest, then turned to look at Sapphire, who had sat down on a nearby crate and was listening intently.

"Mostly, it doesn't matter if you're actually scared or not. What matters is whether you _act_ scared. If someone's trying to get to you, and you keep your ground and look like it doesn't bother you, then all that scaring goes back at _them_, and they start to worry that you're a lot tougher than they thought, so they start to lose it a little. That gives you an advantage straight off, which is a good thing."

Sapphire nodded. "I'll have to try that."

"Good." Cen smiled. "It helps a lot, trust me. And even if it doesn't do anything to the guy you're fighting, like if they're undead or something, it helps anyway, because after a while, if you keep acting brave, you start to feel brave. That's good too."

Sapphire hopped off the crate and knelt beside Cen as he sat down in front of the first chest he had opened. He handed her hammer back to her as she joined him, and she reattached it to her belt.

The contents of the chest did not appear to be anything extraordinary: bolts of brightly colored cloth, skeins of silken thread, and handfuls of what looked like fangs or talons. Cen picked up a length of brilliant white cloth and looked at it in confusion.

"Okay…"

Sapphire, on the other hand, looked intrigued.

"These are spellcasting items," she said, taking the fabric from Cen and examining it. "The cloths cast protective spells, and the fangs cast attack spells. The thread can be used to slow down enemies."

Cen blinked a couple of times. "Oh. So, stuff for you and Rath, then."

"Not necessarily. You don't have to be a spellcaster to make them work, so you or Estel could use them if you wanted or needed to." Sapphire set the white cloth back in the chest, her face going slightly pink. "I…do think Rath will like these, though."

Cen barely managed not to roll his eyes. "Right."

He opened the second chest. This one required no explanation: it was full to the brim with gold and silver coins, sparkling in the glow from the marshlight.

Cen's eyes widened, then he grinned. "Now _that's_ more like it." He scooped up a handful of coins and poured them back into the chest. "There has to be at _least_ five thousand gil in here. We can buy a lot of supplies with this."

The third chest contained an odd variety of items: bunches of neatly tied grass; tiny, clear bottles filled with transparent liquid; long golden needles; things like pale blue sugar cubes, wrapped in swatches of rough cloth; antidote bottles labeled with various spiders, snakes, and blobs; and dozens upon dozens of potions in their oblong blue bottles. As soon as Sapphire saw all this, she gave a delighted gasp.

"These are all healing items!" she exclaimed, examining each of the different objects. "Cures for poison, blindness, petrification…" She picked up one of the sugar-cube items. "These restore the energy needed for spellcasting…"

Cen looked a bit surprised by Sapphire's sudden enthusiasm. He turned back to the chest and began sifting through the items inside.

"It looks like we got a pretty good deal out of this," he said. "I wouldn't have figured that Bikke would have stuff like this on his ship."

"He must have just stolen it," Sapphire said, counting the potions. "That's why he hadn't opened the chests; he hadn't had them long enough to find how they worked."

Cen nodded, continuing his scan of the chest's contents. After a moment, something caught his eye: a wooden box sitting at the rear of the chest. Cen picked it up and opened it, revealing a number of small leather pots, their tops corked and sealed with wax. He took one out and shook it next to his ear, but no sound came from inside.

"Sapphire, what's this?" he asked, holding the container out to her.

Sapphire set down the items she had been examining and took the container from Cen. She shook it as he had, then peeled the wax away and removed the cork. She poured the contents—fluffy, silvery-white feathers—into her hand. Her eyes widened.

"How many of these are there?" she asked, looking up at Cen.

Cen counted them. "Ten, counting that one you're holding. What are they?"

"This is phoenix down," Sapphire said. She carefully returned the tiny feathers to their container. "It can bring people back from the dead…"

"_What_?"

Sapphire nodded. "There are limits on how it can be used, but…" She corked the pot again and set it back in its box, her movements almost reverent. "Phoenixes are very rare creatures, and one of the special things about them is that they never really die. When their current life ends, they burst into flames and are born again from the ashes. The down taken from the infants can be used to resurrect someone who has died. It's very valuable." She pointed at the chest of gil. "All of that wouldn't be enough to buy this much phoenix down in a shop, if the shop carried it at all."

Cen gave an impressed whistle. "Wow. It looks like Bikke helped us out a lot more than he meant to." He closed the box and set it back in the chest. "Okay, let's head back up top. We need to let Estel know what we found."

Sapphire nodded, but at the mention of Estel and Bikke her expression became troubled. Cen got to his feet, then helped her up as well before starting back through the jumble of crates, toward the ladder and the hatchway.

"Wait a moment," Sapphire said. "I want to ask you something."

Cen stopped and turned to look at her, puzzled. "What is it?"

Sapphire fidgeted a bit, picking at the hems of her sleeves and looking at a crate beside her instead of at Cen.

"Is…is Bikke really Estel's father?"

Cen frowned, started to say something, then stopped and shook his head.

"I don't know. I guess there's the chance he is, but there's no way to know for sure. Really, with a job like Estel's mom had, there are _dozens_ of people it could be."

Sapphire's face went very red. "I…I see…" She looked up from the crate. "He just…Bikke seemed so sure about it, and I—"

"Bikke's a liar," Cen said at once. "He'd say anything to get a rise out of Estel, just because he thinks it's funny, and that's something he knows will always do that."

"Why is that so much worse? I mean…" Sapphire shuffled uncomfortably, glancing off at the shadows on the inside of the hull. "Not that that isn't awful, but I just…I thought it would be worse to hear about…about what happened to his mother…"

Cen shook his head. "Bikke doesn't have to say anything about that, because Estel was there when it happened and can remember all of it. Saying he's Estel's dad, though, adds all kinds of things onto that."

"Like what?"

"Well, would _you_ want to think that someone like that was your dad?" Cen asked, giving Sapphire a 'you must be kidding' sort of look. "I mean, if Bikke _is_ the dad, look at how he treated the mother of his kid, and how he treated his own son."

Sapphire did not reply.

"How can Estel be so…so happy all the time?" she said at last. "If I'd been through anything like that, I…" She trailed off.

Cen half-smiled. "Well, it's not like he's _always_ thinking about it; the last couple of days have just been kind of a special case. And he ended up with a pretty good family, so I figure that's helped."

Sapphire looked at Cen curiously. "Your family?"

"Yeah." Cen nodded. "My parents adopted him after he came to Crescent Lake, so we're pretty much brothers now."

Sapphire smiled a little. "That's nice."

Cen laughed. "Well, it's a lot of fun, anyway. But I kind of figure that Mother and Father were pretty glad that me and him decided to go traveling with Elend. We were getting a…" He hesitated, trying to think of the right word. "A reputation."

"Oh… Well, yes, I suppose that would happen. Estel…seems good at making reputations for himself."

"Hey," Cen said, sounding almost offended. "I _did_ have my own, even before Estel came. He just made me more…" He paused again, frowning. "Encouragable?" he said in an uncertain, questioning tone Sapphire had not heard him use before.

Sapphire looked puzzled for a moment, then gave a small, "oh" of understanding. "Oh, yes, incorrigible. That's right."

Cen relaxed a bit and and let out a breath.

"Yeah," he said. "Incorrigible. Right." He glanced over his shoulder at the dim light shining down through the hatchway. "All right, let's _really_ get out of here now. I need to let Estel know I won the bet, anyway."

The pair emerged on deck to find Estel watching the hatchway almost hawkishly; his expression seemed to say that he had expected the hold to somehow crawl through the hatch and attack. Rath sat a few benches away, having briefly given up trying to remain upright. He had his eyes shut and his head bowed forward against his staff, and his torn sleeve flapped a bit in the breeze.

"You owe me ten gil," Cen said before Estel could do more than jump to his feet.

Estel, who had opened his mouth to say something, came up short at this. He gaped as Cen helped Sapphire up onto the deck.

"I do?" he managed to say at last.

Cen nodded. "Just go take a few from the _five thousand_ we found down there."

"Five _thousand_?"

"Yeah. You can go check for yourself if you don't believe me."

"Er…" Estel glanced at the hatch. "I believe you. But, hey, wait." He frowned. "Didn't he say something about a _million_ gil? Where's the rest?"

"It got used as bribes, remember?" Cen said. "He said that too."

"Oh…"

"There were other things too," Sapphire put in as she extinguished her marshlight. "There was a chest full of spellcasting objects, and another filled with healing items."

Estel blinked a couple of times, readjusting to the change of subject.

"Oh, uh, there were? That's great. You look pretty pleased about it."

Sapphire nodded, beaming. "I am. Those items will be very useful to have while we're traveling."

"On the subject of 'traveling'," Rath said, not lifting his head, "I doubt any of you have realized procuring a vessel does nothing if we do not know our next destination."

Sapphire looked a bit shamefaced, glancing out over the water then staring down at the deck. Cen and Estel, on the other hand, just looked annoyed and confused.

"What're you talkin' about?" Estel said.

"We had a _purpose_ in coming to this city!" Rath snapped, jerking his head up to glare at the others. "A purpose seemingly forgotten in the furor of _another_ distraction." He reached into a pocket and drew out his shard of blue crystal, holding it out for his companions to see. "We have a task to complete! We came here following rumors concerning it and have thus far achieved nothing of value!"

Estel's jaw tightened.

"Nothing of value," he repeated. "Yeah, 'cause knockin' that bastard down—"

"Enlighten me, then," Rath interrupted, "as to the beneficial effects of last night's skirmish. We received a ship, which is hardly essential to us as a permanent possession, especially given your previous arrangements regarding transportation. What did we, ourselves, receive in addition to that?"

He paused, giving the others the chance to reply. They exchanged looks—Cen and Estel's fuming, Sapphire's embarrassed—but said nothing. Rath's eyes narrowed a bit, and he continued.

"_Nothing_. It has only been a detriment. We now have this." He gestured at Estel. "Fury over an inadequate victory, upset and guilt brought about by the uncovering of old wrongs and wounds, and the inevitable spreading of those emotions to those close to you. Not to mention that I myself nearly died because of this."

Sapphire shut her eyes tightly. Estel scowled at Rath.

"Get to the point," he said. "You sure talk a hell of a lot for someone who's always sayin' what a hurry he's in."

"We must return to our original task," Rath said, giving Estel a disdainful look. "We came here to gather information on the whereabouts of the Crystals, and that is what we will now do. Nothing more."

"Fine," Estel said coolly. "Hey, and since you're bein' _so_ nice about it, we'll even do the thing right." He looked around at the group. "We'll split up. I—"

"I'll go with Rath," Sapphire said at once.

Estel blinked at her. "You…?" He trailed off as he saw the look in her eyes, then he sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, all right. You two, and then me and Cen. We'll meet back here in a couple hours."

* * *

By the time Rath and Sapphire returned to the _Charybdis_, Cen and Estel had already been back for some time. In addition to searching for information, they had also gone about acquiring fresh supplies for the ship and had collected the companions' things from the inn. As the two mages made their way up the gangplank, Cen was in the midst of taking the new crates down to the hold and removing the old ones, while Estel sat on a nearby bench and watched. He turned at the sound of the approaching footsteps.

"Find anything?" he asked.

Sapphire shook her head. "Nothing." She shot a glance at Rath, who was fuming silently, then looked back at Estel. "What about you?"

"Nope," Estel said. "Not a thing. Kinda figured as much, with the place bein' pretty much shut down for the last month."

"Oh…" Sapphire sighed, looking downcast. "Then I…I don't know what we can do. This was really our only chance to—"

"You need not remind us of that," Rath said sourly. He walked to the side of the ship, looking out at the rest of the docks; a few more ships had arrived in the companions' absence. "Your friend did an admirable job of halting all inflow of information in this city, Estel."

Estel glowered. "Call him that again and I'll break your arm."

"As amusing as it would be to witness that attempt, I believe I shall decline."

Any further bickering halted as Cen emerged from the hold, bringing up the last empty crate. He blinked in surprise as he saw Rath and Sapphire.

"Just got back?"

"Obviously," Rath said, looking almost disgusted by Cen's question.

Cen scowled. "Don't—"

A shout interrupted him: "Ahoy there!"

The companions looked around in surprise, and their gazes fell upon a ship that had just moored beside theirs: an impressive brig, its crew hurrying to secure the many ropes and sails. Against the ship's railing leaned a tall man, grinning across at the group.

Cen and Estel's faces broke into answering grins, and Estel hopped to his feet.

"Elend!"

"Ahoy there!" Cen shouted back. "You're late, El! What took you so long?"

Elend laughed and, in an impressive display of athleticism, vaulted his ship's railing and landed squarely on the dock beside it. He crossed to the _Charybdis's_ gangplank as Cen and Estel descended it.

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, still grinning. "How did it take you four months to get here?"

"Don't ask," Estel said, groaning and doubling over in an over-dramatic display.

Cen and Elend both laughed.

"All right, Estel, I'm not kidding," Elend said at last. "Where have you been? I've been back here at least twice looking for you two, and a lot more than twice if you count all the times I spent trying to break through the blockade Bikke set up."

"You're Cen's uncle?" Sapphire said, standing at the top of the gangplank and looking at Elend curiously. Judging by the puzzled look on her face, Elend was not what she had expected; he dressed like a slightly scruffy Cressan nobleman, not the captain of a pirate ship. Though some of their features were similar, he did not look much like his nephew, with a more slender build and longer, very dark hair as opposed to Cen's warrior physique and unruly blond tangles.

Elend turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. "Yes, I am." He glanced at Cen and Estel. "I see you've made a new friend."

"Oh, yeah," Estel said. "All thanks to you, y'know." He walked back up the gangplank and put his hand on Sapphire's shoulder. "This is Sapphire, and…" He pointed at Rath, who was giving Elend the look of dislike he usually reserved just for Cen. "…the little ray of sunshine over there is Rath."

Rath shot him an icy look. "I am well aware of your opinion of my temperament, and would point out that continually referencing it in such a manner will do nothing to improve it."

Elend glanced at Cen with slight incredulity.

"Interesting choice of traveling companions, Cen. I would've thought—"

"Hey, I didn't _want_ to travel with him," Cen interrupted, frowning. "We don't really have a choice."

"Yeah," Estel said, waving a reproving finger at Elend. "Nice mess you got us stuck in, El. We gotta go save the world now, 'cause of you."

Elend's eyes widened in surprise. "Save the world?"

Estel nodded. "Yeah. Those crystal things you found picked out me and Cen to be Light Warriors. We ran into Rath and Saph outside Cornelia, and now…" He made a sweeping, 'all-encompassing' gesture. "We gotta travel around and fix the world so it won't be 'shrouded in darkness,' or whatever the hell it was that prophecy said."

It took a moment for this to sink in, but once it had, Elend laughed.

"Really! Well, I can't think of anyone better for the job than you and Cen, that's for sure. And I'm sure your friends are more than up to the task as well." He bowed to Sapphire and Rath. "I guess that answers my question on why you took so long to get here, then," he continued, turning to Cen. "Out working on the prophecy."

"Erm…" Cen hesitated. "More like taking down a rogue knight and kicking around in Cornelia for two months until the bridge to the mainland was fixed. We didn't have a way to get anywhere until then."

"Ah, right," Elend said, nodding. "Yes, that _would_ explain why you're late. And it seems like you've been pretty busy since you got here." He gave Estel a slightly devious look. "Gave old Captain Jackass what was coming to him, did you?"

Estel scowled and folded his arms. "Not hardly." He stared moodily out over the docks. "All we did was kill most of his crew and take his ship. Bastard got off easy."

"We did try, though," Sapphire put in, then looked surprised that she had spoken up on the matter. "I mean…" She stammered for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. "That is, we went out to face him, but he…he'd bribed some of the guards over to his side, so Estel didn't get a chance to—"

"I know about the guards," Elend interrupted. "I always make a point to keep tabs on Bikke, so I've known for a while that he's been up to something. Tia and her friends have been keeping me informed on what's been happening here, and the crew and I worked out a plan based on what we've heard." He gestured to the companions. "If you hadn't turned things around, we were going to round up all the other pirates and lay siege to the city. I don't think that the Parliament would have appreciated that, so thank you for making it unnecessary."

Sapphire looked both surprised and stunned. "You would have besieged the city, just to get Bikke out?"

Elend nodded. "He's bad news. But it looks like you've taken care of the threat to Pravoka, even if Bikke is still around."

Estel's scowl deepened at this. Elend raised an eyebrow, then beckoned for Estel to come down the gangplank and stand next to him. Estel did so, and Elend put his arm around his shoulders.

"I don't blame you for being upset," Elend said. "But since it looks like killing is out of the question at the moment, how about this?" He whispered something in Estel's ear. As he spoke, a very nasty smile spread across Estel's face. Elend straightened up.

"Good plan, don't you think? And it would definitely take the fight out of him."

Estel nodded vigorously. "I _like_ that plan."

"What is it?" Sapphire asked, frowning and taking a step down the gangplank.

"You probably don't want to know," Cen said. Sapphire took the hint and did not press the matter.

"Make sure it hurts," Estel said with unsettling eagerness. "A lot."

Elend nodded. "Will do." He clapped Estel on the back, then looked around at the group. "I need to be helping the crew get things settled, but why don't you all come and fill me in while we work?"

This idea received general approval from the companions, save for Rath, who just gave one of his usual glares. Still, they all followed Elend away from the _Charybdis_ and back to his own ship, the _Mistborne_. As they boarded, the deck abustle with activity, a few of the crewmembers looked up from their tasks to greet Cen and Estel and even toss a few welcoming comments to Rath and Sapphire.

Elend went back to work at once, helping draw in one of the sails as he listened to Cen and Estel begin their explanation of what had been going on since they had parted ways with Elend and his crew. Rath and Sapphire just let them get on with it, trying to keep out of the way of all the bustle as much as possible. Elend finished helping with the sails just as Cen and Estel more or less concluded their story, then straightened up and turned to look at them.

"Well, you definitely have enough to be getting on with, I'll say that, even if you haven't gotten around to anything in the actual prophecy yet. It makes what we've been doing sound almost relaxing."

"What have you been doin'?" Estel asked.

"Spying, mostly," Elend replied. He leaned back against the railing and folded his arms. "Like I said, I've known for a while that Bikke's been up to something, but finding out exactly what it was ended up being a bit trickier. He's not the sharpest man ever to live, but he's not an idiot, and getting a spy right into his crew is something we couldn't manage. Now that all his plans here have been ruined, that doesn't matter so much, but there's plenty I still wish we could have found out. How he got that ship, for one thing." He nodded toward the _Charybdis_. "It's not exactly easy to take an elven ship, and Bikke never struck me as the type to try."

"Oh, you _noticed_," Sapphire said, sounding greatly relieved. "Oh, I'm so glad it wasn't just me. As soon as I saw it, I thought it must have been a mistake…I mean, that Bikke would have a ship like that. I can't understand how he could have gotten it."

Cen and Estel exchanged puzzled looks, but Elend nodded.

"That's what I thought too; there's something going on with that. But, like I said, I haven't been able to find out anything about it. Yet," he added. "I'll have to see if I can persuade him to tell us a few things when we track him down. Which reminds me…"

He stuck two fingers in his mouth and gave a sharp whistle. A few moments later, a scrawny, black-haired young woman dropped out of the rigging and landed, cat-like, on the deck in front of him.

"What is it?"

"Do you think you can go find someone for me, Vin?"

The girl tilted her head a little. "Who?"

"Our good pal Bikke," Elend said. "We have some things to…discuss."

Vin considered this for a moment, then nodded. "I can find him."

"All right. Start out looking around the Burping Troll and spread out from there. Have Spook and Kell go with you."

Vin nodded again, then darted off across the deck to collect her companions and start off on her assignment.

"All right," Elend said, turning back to Cen and the others. "Now that's taken care of. We'll have him caught and begging for mercy before this time tomorrow."

Sapphire looked startled by this blunt announcement, but Estel nodded approvingly.

"Give him hell for me, El. Too bad I can't stick around to help."

"Oh?" Elend looked from Estel to Cen. "You're leaving already, are you?"

"Yeah," Cen said. "Not that we know where we're going yet, but it looks like it's _really_ important that we get there." He shot a look at Rath, who ignored him.

"Ah. Boldly going nowhere, then. Well…" Elend thought for a moment, frowning down at the deck. "I'm afraid I don't know much about the Crystals, at least as far as where they are, so I can't help you there. But if you're going to be setting out right away regardless, you should get over to Melmond."

Estel started to say something, then stopped, frowning, his brow furrowed. Cen, on the other hand, looked surprised.

"Melmond? Why?"

"Because something bad is going on there," Elend said, looking suddenly grave. "We ran across a Melmish merchant ship on our way here, and what we heard from the passengers wasn't good. Apparently there's been a massive outbreak of undead, unlike any other I've heard of; even the land itself is rotting away and dying. From what the people we spoke to said, a vampire is behind all of it, and it's managed to avoid defeat and capture for months. I was going to go look into it myself, but with everything that's going on here now—"

"We'll go," Cen said at once, with startling intensity. "We'll leave right now."

"I knew you'd say that." Elend half-smiled and gave Cen an encouraging slap on the back. "Be careful."

"Aren't we always?" Cen gave a tense smile and clapped Elend's shoulder in return, then led the Light Warriors off the _Mistborne_.

* * *

"What were you _thinking_?!"

The companions had barely set foot back aboard the _Charybdis_ before Rath had exploded into a fit of temper. He now stood in the middle of the deck, fists clenched and eyes blazing as he faced Cen.

"We have no time for this! We should be searching for information about the Crystals, not setting off on yet _another_ side venture!" He prodded Cen in the chest, and even though he was only taller by virtue of his hat, he seemed to tower over the warrior. The air around him crackled. "Why?! What put it into your empty head to send us off on this useless pursuit?!"

Cen glared back at Rath and crossed his arms over his chest, his expression thunderous. "Because it needs to be done, and I didn't see any problem with us doing it."

Rath turned and stalked away from him. "Of course not. We've been delayed enough as it is, so why not take yet _longer_ to accomplish what we're meant to do." He spun back around. "Did you hear _nothing_ of what I said? This is a purposeful journey, a mission on which the fate of the planet depends, not the aimless wanderings to which you are apparently accustomed! Can you not remember that for more than five minutes? This is a _distraction_, and if we continue in pursuing distractions—"

"It's not a distraction!" Cen roared. "This is important!"

"Why? Why do you believe it so important for us to do this?"

"Because I have family there!"

Off to the side, Sapphire gave a sharp gasp and put her hand to her mouth, and even Rath looked taken aback for half a second before his anger returned. Cen, breathing hard, paid no attention to this as he continued:

"My brother and his family live in Melmond, and if vampires and undead are running around killing people, then that means they're in danger! Just because the big picture is important doesn't mean things like that aren't important too!"

Before Rath could retort, Estel, who had been watching the row with detached concern, strode over and placed himself between the two combatants.

"I think we need to cool down a little, guys," he said as calmly as he could. "Cen, go start casting off the mooring lines so we can get goin'. Rath, get down into the hold and get our stuff stowed; we don't want it knockin' around the whole trip."

"Very well," Rath said, matching Estel's calm tone exactly, though still glaring venomously at Cen. He turned and walked over to the open hatchway. "Do be certain, however," he added as he stepped onto the ladder, "to mind that fool in my absence."

The look on Cen's face at this was truly terrifying.

"_Don't you dare call me that_!"

He started after Rath, but Estel caught him by the arm and, having to use all his strength, managed to pull him to a halt.

"Stop it, leave him alone—"

"Why don't you come say that to my face and see what you get, you little—!"

"_Cen, shut up!_" Estel bellowed.

Cen turned, glowering at Estel. "He just—"

"I know," Estel interrupted. "But he didn't know any better, okay? Just leave it. I don't wanna be left cleanin' up the mess once you two get finished with each other."

Cen started to say something, then shook his head and stormed away across the deck to see to the mooring lines. Estel sighed, walked back over to Sapphire, and sat down on the bench beside her with a thump.

"Will he be all right?" Sapphire asked, casting a worried look at Cen.

Estel nodded. "Yeah. Cen's just a little touchy about stuff. Rath hit a nerve." He glanced at the hatch, and after a moment he gave a quiet chuckle. Sapphire frowned.

"I don't see what's so funny," she said.

"Rath. He got all pissed off over this, but he didn't have any reason to, at all."

"Why?"

"Aw, I thought you'd know." Estel swiveled around in his seat to face her. "One time, El was tellin' me and Cen about this place out near Melmond, called Jord Cave. I asked about the name, and El says it's a dwarf word that means—"

"Earth," Sapphire said, her eyes widening in realization.

Estel grinned. "Yep. And see, while those two were yellin' at each other, I was thinkin', 'Wouldn't _Earth_ Cave be a good place to start lookin' for the _Earth_ Shrine?'"

"Of course…yes, of course it is. Oh, my goodness…" Sapphire put her hand to her cheek, looking stunned. "How could we have missed that before? It's so obvious…"

"Dunno." Estel shrugged. "But we know now, is the thing." He got to his feet and gave an exaggerated stretch. "I'm gonna go help Cen get us ready to go. Why don't you go down and break the news to Rath? He might take it better comin' from you."

Sapphire nodded and started after Rath, conjuring a marshlight as she went.

Cen had done a good job of organizing the contents of the hold. Crates and barrels now stood in ordered rows, with the three chests sitting off to the side by themselves. Amidships, a group of crates had been arranged to form a small alcove, and near there stood Rath, storing the companions' gear in an otherwise empty box. He muttered to himself as he worked, his movements agitated and jerky.

Sapphire hesitated, then tapped on the top of crate to announce her presence.

"What?" Rath snapped, not bothering to look around to see who it was.

"Um…" Any thought of what to say had left her. "Can I…I mean, may I talk to you for a moment?"

Rath paused, his shoulders relaxing slightly, then he turned to look at her.

"Yes?"

Sapphire looked away, flustering under his intense gaze. "Well, I…" She started fiddling with the sleeves of her robes. "I…wanted to tell you that I agree with you…about needing to get on with the quest, I mean. We haven't been concentrating on it like we should have."

"Hm." Rath's expression became only slightly annoyed. "It is good to know at least one other understands the urgency of the situation. I thank you for your agreement." He turned back to his work. "Is that all you wished to say?"

"No…" Sapphire looked up at him again. "There was, um…that is, I thought that it would still be all right to go to Melmond, because…because Jord Cave is just to the south of the city, and…"

Rath turned to look at her, his expression inscrutably serious, and she promptly lost her train of thought. After a moment, she managed to continue:

"And it seemed like that would be a good place to start looking for the Earth Shrine. I mean, with the name the cave has…" She bit her lip, watching Rath anxiously. "I thought you'd like to know, since you seemed so upset about going."

"Hm." Rath nodded, though his expression remained unreadable. "I see. Yes, that is certainly a viable theory." He turned back to the crate.

Sapphire waited for a moment, but if Rath had any further thoughts on the matter, he did not voice them. She made a few movements as though to leave, only to stop herself each time. After a rather awkward pause, she spoke again.

"You…Cen was very upset by…by what you said."

Rath's shoulders stiffened again. "Yes, I noticed."

"You didn't…I mean, did you mean to make him so angry?"

"I did not wholly anticipate his reaction, no," Rath said after a pause.

"Oh…" Sapphire looked slightly relieved. "All right, then. I'll just…" She moved to leave again, but then turned back and held her marshlight out to Rath. "Here. So…so you can see better while you're working."

Rath looked only slightly surprised by this, but he said nothing as he reached out and scooped the orb of light out of the air above Sapphire's palm. He gave her an acknowledging nod, then went back to work. Sapphire, smiling and blushing, turned and hurried out of the hold.

Cen and Estel had just finished casting off as she emerged back on deck, and Estel now stood at the tiller while Cen went to the mast to unfurl the ship's single sail. Estel looked at Sapphire as she sat down on one of the benches. He seemed a bit off-put by the expression on her face but did not comment on it.

"Well?"

"He's…not so angry anymore," Sapphire said. "And…" She hesitated. "And he said that he didn't really mean to upset Cen like he did."

Estel blinked in surprise, and Cen stopped what he was doing to turn and stare at Sapphire in blatant astonishment.

"What? You mean he actually _apologized_?"

Sapphire nodded.

Cen and Estel stared at one another, stunned.

"Well, damn," Estel said finally. "Who'd've figured, huh?"

Cen shook his head, not looking at all in the mood to be forgiving. "Whatever. Come on, let's get out of here."


	9. Elvenhome

**Chapter 9: Elvenhome**

Bikke had not been exaggerating when he had spoken of the _Charybdis_'s speed. After leaving the Bay of Pravoka behind, the companions' journey west across the Aldean Sea—with a lengthy detour to the south to bypass the Cornelian peninsula—took scarcely one week. Estel remarked on their speed repeatedly, with increasing amounts of respect and awe. Upon rounding Cape Royal, the tip of the Cornelian peninsula, after only three days of travel, Estel announced that at this rate they would be able to reach Melmond in less than another week.

Unfortunately, the journey ended rather sooner than that.

The Duergar Canal, the only outlet from the Aldean Sea, had collapsed. The tall cliffs came together in a jumble of earth and stone, with several enormous, upthrust boulders in the center of the mess. The sea churned and foamed at this sudden impediment, but not even the smallest seam existed to allow passage between the Aldean and the Gulf of Melmond on the opposite side.

Estel, standing slumped over the tiller, glared at the wall of rubble as though it had in some way insulted him. Up at the front of the ship, Cen leaned against the tall prow despondently, his expression blank.

"How did this happen?" Estel burst out suddenly. "This passage has been open for as long as I can remember!"

Sapphire, sitting on a nearby bench with her legs tucked up beneath her, shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't ever seen anything like this before. Maybe…maybe the dwarves know something about it?" She looked questioningly up at Estel.

"They better," Estel muttered, still glaring at the blocked canal.

"And how do you intend to ask them?" Rath said coolly, not looking up from his book. "Dwarves are not particularly tolerant of humans."

Estel and Sapphire both glanced at him. Rath had been his usual, disdainful self during the sea voyage, acting as though his outbursts and strange behavior in Pravoka had never happened. Sapphire had taken this in stride, but it confused Estel, while Cen, still smarting over Rath's insult, just ignored it.

"We'll figure out _something_," Estel said with some heat. "There's no damn way we're gonna let some chunk of rock stop us, and if we gotta bust into Duergar to get it outta the way, then we'll do it."

"We won't…" Sapphire hesitated. "I mean, it won't be any trouble to speak with the dwarves. We're in an elven ship, and the elves and dwarves have an alliance. We'll be able to enter the port and find someone to speak with easily."

"Whatever we're going to do, let's just do it," Cen said. He did not turn away from the wall of rock. "Just standing here talking isn't going to help anything."

Estel nodded. "Right. Well…" He straightened up and looked from side to side, trying to get his bearings. "I think the nearest dock is at Port Kobold up north, so—"

"No," Sapphire said suddenly. "There's a closer one."

"Huh?" Estel blinked. "Where?"

Sapphire pointed to the cliffs just to the north. "There. There's an underground waterway that leads right to Duergamel, and the dwarves have a port there. If we go there, we won't have to travel as far, and we'll be able to get back on our way to Melmond faster."

Cen turned around at once.

"Then that's what we'll do. We need to find out what's going on."

"Okay then," Estel said, twisting the helm to the right. "Next stop, Duergamel."

* * *

Contrary to what Sapphire had said, finding someone to speak with did not prove to be an easy task. It took a great deal of time to convince the dwarven guards at the port that they were not Cornelian agents and that their intentions were purely innocent. Sapphire was the one who finally persuaded them, and at last the companions gained access to the dwarven capital of Duergamel, as well as the fathomless mining complex of Mount Duergar.

Duergamel lay nestled in a forested valley between two mountain ranges: the Duergar Mountains to the northwest and the Wichtlein Mountains to the southeast. Buildings hewn into the rock itself covered the mountains' slopes, while others stood in the valley below, their thick spires and domed roofs barely peeking above the enshrouding canopy of the trees. Even in the valley, however, all the structures consisted wholly of stone, a stark and cold contrast to both Cornelia and Pravoka. To the south of the city lay the entrance to the mines. There existed no larger series of caverns either natural or created in the world, and it was because of these that Duergar was arguably the richest nation currently in existence: iron ore, precious gems and metals, and, rarest of all, mythril could all be found in the heart of Mount Duergar. The dwarves certainly had the skill to put these resources to magnificent use; dwarf-made weapons, armor, and jewelry went unrivalled in all respects. Even the elves could not surpass their craftsmanship.

Sapphire, in a continuation of the surprising rapport she had with the dwarves, led the way now, and a quick search revealed that the dwarves were indeed investigating the collapse of the canal. The headquarters of the project lay in the mines, and so, while Estel remained in the city to find an inn that could accommodate people of their height, Cen, Sapphire, and Rath made their way into the caverns of Mount Duergar.

Bright-flamed torches and lanterns, set in brackets attached to the heavy support beams, illuminated the long tunnels within the mountain. Sapphire led the group through the crisscrossing passageways, occasionally asking for directions from a passing dwarf. The bustle of movement in the caverns caused an endless series of echoes through the dust-dry air and proved that everyday life went on in spite of the disaster of the canal.

Finally, the companions reached the large, open cavern in which the canal project was based. While all the tunnels had been well-lit, here enough lamps burned that it seemed nearly as bright as daylight. A great deal of noisy activity came from the southern end of the chamber as the dwarves worked their way through the impediment blocking the canal. Toward the northern end of the chamber stood a large, rough-hewn work table, blueprints and plans strewn across its surface. A dwarf stood there, rummaging through the plans and muttering to himself. His long white beard was braided and tucked into his belt to keep it out of the way, and he wore the same kind of sturdy work clothing and heavy boots as the other miners. A few pieces of surveying equipment hung from his belt.

Sapphire tentatively made her way over to the work table, Cen and Rath following close behind her.

"Excuse me… Are you Nerrick?"

The dwarf looked up and surveyed the three humans standing before him.

"Aye," he said at last, looking back at his papers.

Sapphire gave a quiet sigh of relief. "I'm sorry to disturb you when you're so busy, but we need to know what's going on with the canal."

A frown creased Nerrick's features. "Canna see what business it is o yers, lass."

"We're trying to reach Melmond," Sapphire said, "so we can find out what's causing the decay of the earth. If the problems here are connected to that, then we'll be able to help, but we need to be able to cross through the canal first."

This caught Nerrick's attention. He looked at Sapphire and the others with new interest now, and his broad hands stopped rifling through the parchments before him.

"Aye," he said again. "The earth stairted tae rot in the west, and nou the decay is sprading. The canal juist collapsed wi'oot any warnin."

"Is there anything you can do to reopen it?" Sapphire asked, sounding a bit desperate. Behind her, Rath listened to the conversation intently, his eyes narrowed, while Cen looked a bit puzzled.

"We're tryin, lass," Nerrick said. "But there's a giant rock in oor peth, and we canna bluiter through it. Ah micht be habile to knap it if Ah had a wee bit o nitro pouder, but we havenae any tae hand."

"Nitro powder…" Sapphire frowned, her shoulders slumping. "Yes, that would be a problem. Have you…have you tried asking the elves about it?"

Nerrick shook his head. "The elves hae problems o their ain; canna spare the time oan other things. The dark elf Astos has put a speel oan the young prince, puttin him tae sleep. Then the king went after Astos, but hasnae retourned. The elves willnae think oan anything else until the prince and king are guid and weel."

Cen blinked. "What?"

Sapphire, looking decidedly downcast now, shushed him.

"Thank you for your time," she said to Nerrick.

"Ye're weelcome."

* * *

"So, lemme get all this straight." Estel frowned "The dwarves need nitro powder to open the canal again. They don't have any, and can't get any unless they talk to the elves. But the elves' king is missin' and their prince is cursed, and they won't do anything until they've solved their own problems. Is that about it?"

"Yes," Rath said.

Estel had managed to find the only inn in the city capable of accommodating humans and had rented a set of rooms for the group, a kind of private parlor connecting them to one another. It was in this common room that the companions now sat in conference, each on a different side of the square firepit sunk into the center of the floor. A fire roared within it, the pungent smoke drifting upward to escape through a hole in the ceiling. Estel watched Sapphire, sitting on her bench with her knees drawn up to her chest, as her gaze drifted up along with the smoke.

"Why the elves?" he asked. "Are they the only ones who can make it?"

Sapphire shook her head. "Nitro powder is made in Cornelia. But…well, with things the way they are between Cornelia and Duergar…"

"Ah…" Estel nodded. "So, the elves would just be the go-between. Okay."

To Estel's right, Cen looked up from his study of the carvings on his bench.

"So what do we need to do to fix this so we can get going again?"

Across from Cen, Rath gave a quiet snort of disgust.

"And yet another task is placed in our path. These delays will be the death of us."

"We can only hope," Cen muttered to himself, shooting Rath a dirty look.

"I guess," Estel said after a moment of silence, "the best thing to do would be to go to Cornelia to ask about gettin' some nitro powder, huh?"

Sapphire shook her head, now staring into the fire. "No. Nitro powder…it's a _very_ powerful substance. The Cornelian Army uses it very sparingly, and…and they don't just dole it out to whoever asks. But if…I mean, a formal request from the royal family of Elfheim would carry a lot of weight and be more likely to get results."

"So…" Estel frowned in thought. "So, we need to go to Elfheim and get things sorted out there first?"

"So it would seem," Rath said sourly, glaring off at nothing in particular.

"Oh. Well, that shouldn't be too bad, huh? I mean, how hard can it be to un-curse someone anyway?"

"Since it was Astos who cursed him, it will be very hard," Sapphire said. She bit her lower lip and began fidgeting with her sleeves. "Astos is a very powerful wizard…"

Estel raised an eyebrow. "You know anything else about all this?"

Sapphire sighed, squirming on her bench. "I…yes, I do." She glanced around at the others, then turned her gaze back to the firepit. "Prince Avarion has been under Astos's curse for over a year now. In all that time, he hasn't woken even for a moment. The physicians have tried everything they can think of, but none of it has helped."

"Interesting you know so much concerning this, Sapphire," Rath commented lightly, his golden eyes narrowed as his gaze bored into her.

"Shut up," Estel said, giving Rath a look. "Just let her finish."

Sapphire stammered, nonplussed by Rath's interruption, then tried to continue. "The…the only person who may be able to revive the prince…I mean, the elves know of her, and have sent her messages, but she…she hasn't replied to them. That was…" Her face colored slightly. "That was the other reason I went to Cornelia. That's where this woman lives, and I…I was supposed to ask her for help…"

"Ah, shit." Estel's eyes widened. "I'd forgot you said you had something else to do there! How come you didn't say anything after we left the castle, Saph?"

"I just…" Sapphire hugged her legs and glanced quickly over at Rath. "I didn't want to cause any distractions," she said, her voice almost inaudible.

Cen and Estel both stared at her for a moment, then shot identical sour looks at Rath. He responded, as usual, by ignoring them.

"I take this to mean you have some significant connection to Elfheim, to have been given such a vital task," he said, continuing to watch Sapphire.

After a moment, Sapphire nodded. "My temple is there."

Rath's eyes narrowed a bit more, but he said nothing. Sapphire continued:

"They…the elves have a very strong tradition of white magic, so when I displayed a talent for it, my family moved to Elfheim so I could learn." She gave a very weak smile. "Lucky for us. The elves have become very cautious lately, after…after what happened to Avarion. They won't let anyone into the city unless someone of importance can vouch for them."

"Like a priest or royalty?" Estel asked.

"Yes."

"All right, then," Cen said after a pause. "It looks like we're going to Elfheim."

* * *

The elven lands lay on the southern coast of the Aldean Sea, curving up to meet with Duergar in the west and reaching as far as the beginning of the Gulg Mountains of Crescent in the east. From Duergamel, it took the _Charybdis_ scarcely two days to reach the elven shore. The walk from the shore to what Sapphire told them was the edge of the city of Elfheim took a little more than two days, the road winding through the heavily forested terrain. They encountered little trouble along the way, only once stumbling upon a nest of cobras, which they wisely left alone. Finally, as they drew near the city, Sapphire slowed her pace and indicated the others should do the same.

Only a minute or two later, a slight rustle came from the dense foliage ahead of them, and two tall elves, clad in green and with their dark hair pulled back from their faces, stepped out from among the trees, longbows at the ready. The companions halted as one of the elves addressed them in his own tongue.

"Er…" A worried frown appeared on Estel's face. "What'd…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Sapphire stepped forward and replied to the elf, speaking the same language. The others understood only the mentions of their own names and those of Avarion and Lukahn, so they waited silently as Sapphire spoke to the pair of guards. After Sapphire finished speaking, the two elves lowered their bows.

"You will come with us," one of the elves said, now speaking in the common tongue as he addressed the companions. "Do not stray from our path."

He and the other elf set off at once, and the Light Warriors hurried along behind them. Within less than an hour, as the sun began to set, they reached the city of Elfheim.

It was unlike anything the companions had yet seen. Many of the buildings seemed to be made of living trees, the trunks and branches persuaded to grow into walls and roofs. None of the buildings had doors; instead, curtains hung from the entryways, some tied back to let in the fresh, forest-scented breeze. Delicate glass decorations hung from some of the branches, tinkling gently as the wind moved them. Ahead of the companions, visible above the leafy house- and treetops, stood the royal palace. It too looked as though it had grown out of the soil, but instead of branches and leaves twisting their way skyward, pinnacles of crystal, glass, and stone climbed up from the ground, glinting above the city in the red sunset light.

The guards led them to this magnificent building and into a wide, open entryway bordered by pillars of mottled green stone crafted in the shape of towering trees. High above them, leaves made of gold rustled in a perpetual breeze. About the bases of these stone trees, delicate flowers of rubies, amethysts, and diamonds glistened among clusters of emerald leaves.

"You will wait here," one of the elves instructed, then they both departed, leaving the companions in this stone garden.

Cen and Estel stared around in blatant amazement, completely at a loss for words, while Rath examined one of the pillars. Sapphire, on the other hand, stood quite still in the middle of the hall, her head tilted back and her gaze fixed on the high ceiling of interwoven branches. After a moment, she closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, releasing it as a sigh.

Hearing this, Estel turned to look at her, and he found he could not stop looking at her. A quiet, slightly wistful exhalation escaped him.

Only a few moments later, the guards returned, now accompanied by another elf. He was older than the other two, though his fine features and dark hair did nothing to betray his true age. Only in his eyes could the difference be seen, in the ancient wisdom they held. He wore long, pale green robes, tied at the waist with a white sash, and a silver circlet rested on his brow. He approached Sapphire and bowed.

"Priestess, you have returned," he said, his tone politely surprised. "We did not expect you for some time yet."

Cen and Estel glanced at each other.

"Priestess?" Estel mouthed. "But I thought…"

Cen shrugged.

Sapphire ignored them. "I have," she said, inclining her head to the robed elf. "Things have happened while I've been abroad, and I felt it would be wise to return."

The elf nodded. "I see. Well, then, it seems we have issues to discuss. If you and your companions…" His eyes swept over the other three Light Warriors with a slight look of polite displeasure as he took in their travel-worn appearance and Rath's torn robes. "…would care to accompany me to my chambers, we will be able to speak in some comfort." He turned and started down the long hallway leading into the castle; Sapphire strode regally behind him, closely followed by the others.

The chamber they arrived at looked no less grand than the entrance hall. Trees of white marble arched up from the corners of the room, their branches forming an intricate latticework on the ceiling. Emerald leaves glinted in the light shining in from the multi-paned windows that covered one wall. Pale-colored silks and linen curtains hung around the windows and covered the several low, amply padded chairs set around a table in the center of the room. The elf gestured for them to sit, and they did so, Estel and Cen both looking a bit awkward.

"I believe," Sapphire said, looking around, "that introductions are in order. Chancellor, my companions: Cen and Estel Venture, and Rath." They each nodded as they were mentioned. "Friends, this is Chancellor Eredon. He's overseeing the affairs of the kingdom while the royal family is indisposed."

Chancellor Eredon inclined his head to the companions. "It is an honor to meet you, Warriors of Light." He turned back to Sapphire, seated in the chair to his left. "I take it you have no word from Matoya?"

Sapphire seemed to be fighting the impulse to fiddle with her sleeves, her fingers twisting restlessly in her lap. "I…didn't have the chance to speak to her. The course of things went in a different way than I had thought they would, and…I did not manage to complete the journey to her home. Though," she added quickly, "there really wasn't much hope that I could do anything, was there? She has already ignored so many of our messages, and—"

Eredon held up a hand, and Sapphire fell silent at once.

"I understand," he said. "The path of the Warriors of Light is neither easy nor predictable. We almost expected that things wouldn't progress as we had planned them."

Sapphire nodded, looking relieved. Her hands stilled.

"Has there been any change in Prince Avarion's condition?" she asked.

"No, none. We have stopped expecting there to be by now. It is very regrettable that Matoya refuses to speak with us, and that our messengers have all been unceremoniously swept from her home." Eredon shook his head. "She is truly a wise woman, and we are certain she would know of a way to wake His Highness."

Sapphire sighed. "There must be _something_ we can do to convince her to speak with us. This isn't just a matter that concerns Elfheim anymore, Chancellor; the entire world is at stake now."

"What?" Eredon's eyes widened. "How can that be?"

"The Duergar Canal has collapsed," Sapphire said. She glanced around at the other companions, who all looked perfectly content to let her do all the talking here, then turned back to Eredon. "We spoke with the dwarves concerning it, and they said that they won't be able to reopen it without the use of nitro powder. They will be unable to get any if you don't go to Cornelia on their behalf and fetch it for them." She leaned forward a bit in her chair. "My companions and I need to be able to pass through that canal so that we can continue on our quest. If we can't…" She trailed off.

Eredon was silent for a moment. He got to his feet and walked to the window, staring out at the darkening sky. After a moment, he gave a wave of his hand, and a flurry of small marshlights sprang from his fingertips and flew out to settle across the ceiling like stars, illuminating the room. He turned back to the companions, a somber expression on his fair features.

"I understand your dilemma, but you must understand we're wholly occupied by our own troubles. We have no time or resources to spend elsewhere at this time."

"We do understand," Sapphire assured him. "That's why we're willing to help in any way we can in finding a way to help His Highness recover."

Eredon nodded. "That is good to know."

A brief silence fell, then Sapphire spoke again, looking concerned.

"Chancellor, how long has His Majesty been missing?"

A pained look crossed Eredon's face, and he walked back to the group and sank down into his chair. For a moment, he looked every bit his age.

"Near four months, now. Astos challenged him to a battle at the western keep, and he has not returned since then. Strangely, Astos has not been seen again either; perhaps both perished in the fight."

Sapphire nodded, her eyes downcast. "Yes, that…that could be the case." She bit her lip as she thought. Finally, she looked up. "Has the crown been removed to safety? I can't imagine that His Majesty would take it with him when he faced Astos."

"It has been set in the Marsh Cave, under the protection of the Guardians," Eredon said. "Even Astos himself would not dare to pass them."

"Good." Sapphire sighed, then rose. "My companions and I would like to conference privately."

Eredon nodded. "I will have your chambers prepared for you immediately. Adjacent rooms will be readied for your companions."

* * *

"Saph, what just happened? Saph?"

Sapphire led the companions down a wide, marshlight-lit corridor toward a cluster of rooms adjacent to the courtyard in the center of the castle. She had said nothing to them after their discussion with the chancellor, in spite of the questions Cen and Estel kept throwing at her. Rath, too, remained silent, only occasionally casting a glance at Sapphire's back.

They arrived at what were apparently Sapphire's chambers. A dark blue silk curtain hung in the doorway. Sapphire hesitated before pushing the curtain aside and entering the room. The others followed her in.

The room looked similar to the chancellor's except that everything was pure white. Across the ceiling, more tiny, star-like marshlights hung, and several larger lights hovered in specially designed lanterns that stood at intervals around the walls. There were no chairs, just a chaise lounge, overstuffed cushions of various sizes piled on one side of it, and a couple of wide footstools. Several glass decorations hung from the ceiling and sparkled in the blue-white glow of the marshlights. Two other doorways, also hung with dark blue curtains, led off in opposite directions from the main room.

Sapphire sat down on the lounge, picked up one of the small cushions and hugged it to her chest. She looked rather helplessly up at the others.

"I'm sorry there aren't any chairs… I don't usually have company here."

"And what is _here_, precisely?" Rath said.

"My rooms…"

There was an uncomfortable pause.

"Well," Sapphire said, shifting slightly, "I guess we should decide what we're going to do next. We've got quite a list built up now." She tried to smile.

Cen and Estel glanced at each other and did not answer. Rath, on the other hand, fixed Sapphire with a piercing stare, his eyes glowing eerily in the bluish light.

"First, I believe this requires something of an explanation. Why would you, a young mage and by rights only an acolyte of the temple, possess your own suite of chambers in Castle Elfheim?"

Sapphire averted her gaze. "I think it's rather obvious…"

"Indulge me," Rath said dryly.

Another pause. Finally, Sapphire sighed and looked up at Rath and the others.

"I'm a priestess of the Order of White Magic, which is centered here in Elfheim. It is…usual practice for all priests and priestesses here to reside in the castle."

Cen, his brow furrowed, started to say something, but Rath beat him to it.

"I was aware of this practice. Most people in your position, however, tend to be older when they are set apart and are therefore capable of dwelling on their own. Perhaps my question should have been: why do you reside here rather than with your family?"

Sapphire looked down at her hands. "Because…a few years after we moved here, my parents were…were killed when Astos and the dark elves attacked the city. I was taken to the temple for safety, but they stayed to defend our home, and…"

Estel made a quiet noise of dismay, his eyes widening. Sapphire glanced up as Cen shushed him, then returned her gaze to her lap as she continued to speak.

"The High Priestess felt sorry for me and took me in to stay with her. Last year…she officially proclaimed my ascension to the role of priestess, and I was set apart. A few months after that, the crystal shard darkened, and after it reacted to me, I was chosen to take it to Cornelia to ask Lukahn about it. After that…I met all of you."

Rath nodded as though this short monologue had explained everything. Estel, on the other hand, continued to stare at Sapphire with wide eyes, and Cen frowned, looking rather confused.

"Why didn't you tell us any of this before?"

Sapphire gave a twitchy shrug. "I'm…not very comfortable with it yet… I don't…I mean, I haven't been able to feel like I deserve it…really, I'm hardly more advanced than the other acolytes I trained with before. And it happened so suddenly, and so many bad things happened after I was set apart…" She shut her eyes and shook her head. "I…I try not to think about it too much." She looked up at them pleadingly. "Please don't make a big deal of it."

In an effort to change the subject, she gestured toward the footstools that stood in place of chairs. "Sit down; we need to talk about what we're going to do next."

Cen sat down at once, but Rath remained standing, watching Sapphire, and Estel, looking uncomfortable, turned away and started poking at one of the glass decorations hanging from the ceiling.

"So what are our choices?" Cen asked.

"We can either try to find the king," Sapphire said, "or we can help find a way to cure the prince. We should do both, really; it's just a matter of which to attempt first."

"We oughta go to the western keep," Estel said, still poking the glass ornament and not looking at Sapphire. "You said the king went up there and hasn't come back; if he's still alive, we can bring him back to the castle."

"I think we should try to find the woman who can heal the prince," Cen said. "We _could_ go up to the keep first, but if the king isn't there then the trip would be a waste of time." He looked at Sapphire. "What did you say the woman's name was?"

"Matoya," Sapphire answered. "She's a witch who lives north of Cornelia."

Rath tapped his fingers along the collar of his robes. "What do you know about this woman?"

"She is very wise. She doesn't work magic, not like we do, but something nearer to what chemists practice. On the whole, she has a reputation of being kind, which is why this slighting worries us so much. There must be something extremely important disturbing her, otherwise we know she wouldn't hesitate to help us."

"Is there anything else?"

Sapphire paused for thought. "I know she has a crystal eye she uses to watch over her affairs. I thought this would let her know about our situation better than messengers, but she hasn't sent us any word either."

Silence fell as Rath mulled this over. Sapphire watched him avidly as he did this, looking as though she half-wanted to speak again. Estel started to wander around the room, making his way over to look at one of the stone trees that curved up in the corner, its branches forming the latice of the ceiling. Its front had been hollowed out to make a sort of open-faced cabinet, the shelves within it holding a number of small playthings of Sapphire's: a music box, a few dolls, and some drawing supplies. Estel examined them with the air of one trying to do anything possible to distract himself from the matter at hand. Cen, still seated on his footstool, frowned at the floor in intense concentration.

"Why did you ask about the crown?" he asked after a moment, looking up at Sapphire. "Does it really matter if the king brought it with him or not?"

Sapphire looked away from Rath and nodded. "Yes, it does. There are inscriptions on the inside of the crown, and it…they provide the key to the magical defense of Elfheim and to the most powerful magic of the elven race. It's very important that the crown remains safe."

Cen nodded and went back to his thinking.

After another moment's silence, Rath finally spoke up.

"We will go to the western keep first. I believe the disappearance of both the king and Astos to be too much of a coincidence, and it must be looked into. Truth be told, I am surprised the elves have not investigated it themselves, but there is nothing to be done for that now. Also, if Matoya has ignored the pleas of Elfheim for so long already, there is no reason to think she will listen merely at our behest, and a voyage to speak with her would therefore be purposeless. Seeking the king is our only viable option."

"Okay," Estel said. He turned back to the others. "When should we leave?"

"I…let's rest here for a day or two," Sapphire said. "I have the feeling that I'll have to attend to a few things before we'll be permitted to go…"

Just then, a quiet tapping came from the doorway. Sapphire immediately sat up straight and set aside the little pillow.

"You may enter," she said.

An elven guard pushed aside the silk curtain and stepped into the room.

"Priestess." He bowed to Sapphire, who inclined her head in return. "The rooms for your companions are now prepared."

"Thank you," she said, then turned to the others, her manner becoming distant and formal. "Friends, I thank you for your company and your counsel this evening. I now wish to retire; please follow this guard to your rooms."

Cen and the others, startled by this rapid change in behavior, left without a word; Sapphire watched Rath as he left, her expression uncertain. The guard held back the curtain for them, then turned back to Sapphire.

"My Lady, I was also instructed to tell you that Chancellor Eredon, High Priest Rhimlath, and High Priestess Lauriel wish to hold a council with you at dawn tomorrow. An escort can be sent for you if you so desire."

Sapphire nearly sighed but stopped herself. "Yes, thank you. You may go now."

The guard bowed again, then turned and left the room, joining Cen, Estel, and Rath out in the corridor.

"These are your rooms," he said, gesturing to the door directly across the corridor and those on either side of it. "You may situate yourselves as you see fit. Good evening, Warriors." He inclined his head and left.

Rath immediately made his way to the room to the left, leaving Cen and Estel alone in the corridor. Cen started to cross to the room to the right, but stopped as he realized Estel was not moving, instead staring at the marble floor at his feet with great consternation. Cen walked back to him, frowning.

"What's up?"

Estel looked up at him.

"It's…I dunno. It just…" He shook his head and looked away. "Just this whole thing, all this about Saph, and… Gods, I feel like I've just been hit in the face with a rock, y'know?"

Cen frowned, watching his friend with concern.

"Look, why don't you just go get some sleep, okay? I bet that'll help, and you'll feel better tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure," Estel said, not sounding entirely convinced. "G'night, Cen."

"'Night, Estel."

* * *

It was near midnight. Sapphire glanced around to make sure nobody was in the corridor, then she tiptoed out of her room and looked at the three doors across from hers, trying to determine which room Rath had chosen. After some quick deductions, she went to the room on the left and pushed the dark curtain aside. Seeing no one in the main room, she entered. She looked around for a moment, rubbing her arms through the light fabric of her nightgown, before approaching the curtain that led to the bedchamber.

The fabric was too dark to see through. Sapphire stared at it for a moment, biting her lip, her eyebrows drawn together as she debated with herself. After a minute, she drew a deep breath, took a step forward, and started to push the curtain aside. Before she had moved it more than a few inches, however, she stopped abruptly, staring through the gap at the sight inside the room.

Rath sat cross-legged on the bed, his back to the door, and, for the first time since the journey had begun, he did not have his hat on his head. It instead lay beside him on the bed, and the moonlight coming in the windows glinted off his black, poorly-cut hair. He also was not wearing his robes, instead holding them in a heap on his lap as he mended the tear in the sleeve; he held a needle, long thread trailing from it, in his hand. In place of his usual attire, he wore a plain shirt and trousers, both of which hung loosely on his thin frame. Like his robes, this clothing bore the marks of excessive wear and endless repairs, and the shirt's original color could only have been guessed at after intense scrutiny. He did not seem to be aware of Sapphire's presence.

A few moments later, the needle stopped its darting. Rath cut the thread and held his work up into the moonlight to examine it: the new seam blended indistinguishably with its predecessors, just another battle scar on the old robes. Nodding his approval, Rath got to his feet—Sapphire took a step back, half-fearing he would turn and see her—and he put his robes back on over his other clothes. Then, he replaced his hat firmly on his head before he turned to draw back the coverlet on the bed.

Sapphire retreated to her own room, feeling oddly uncomfortable and tugging on her sleeves. She lay awake for a very long time, wrapped in a down comforter and staring up at the canopy of her bed, before finally falling sleep herself.


	10. Paving The Road

**Chapter 10: Paving the Road**

The next day, Sapphire did not rejoin her companions until nearly noon. After a quick search of the castle, she finally found them loitering in a marble corridor just outside the kitchens: Rath studying the architecture now that he had better light to do so, and Cen and Estel seeing if there was any food available that the chefs would be willing to part with. They all looked around, with varying degrees of interest, when Sapphire hailed them as she approached. She did not seem quite able to make eye contact with Rath as she joined the group.

"Hey, there you are," Estel said, smiling a little. He had a half-eaten apple in one hand. "How'd the meeting thing go?"

"It…" Sapphire sighed, looking rather haggard. "It was all right. High Priest Rhimlath is…a bit difficult to deal with at times, but…" She gave a small nod, almost as though to reassure herself. "I think things went well."

"That's good."

"So what did you guys talk about?" Cen asked.

"About what's happened while I've been gone, and what will happen next. And I told them about our plan to go to the western keep. Lauriel…I mean, the High Priestess was worried about what might happen if we went; she thought it would be better to send guards with us as well, but Chancellor Eredon agreed with me that it would be better if just us four went. We would run less chance of being noticed by the dark elves that way, and we really would want to avoid fighting them if we could."

Cen nodded. "Yeah, that's a good point."

"So when're we leavin'?" Estel said.

"I…thought we could leave tomorrow…if that's all right." Sapphire glanced at Rath to verify this.

Rath nodded.

Sapphire smiled, looking a little relieved. "Good."

The companions spent the rest of the day down in the city. Sapphire showed them around, pointing out the different districts, as well as particular places of interest or importance. After the 'grand tour', as Estel put it, the group visited the magic shops, which had a decidedly ethereal look about them, complete with burning incense and glistening, gauzy curtains covering every surface. Cen and Estel found this puzzling and amusing, respectively, while Rath just found it irksome to be asked to demonstrate his skills by everyone in both the black magic shops, only to receive a stream of suggestions on how to improve his technique. Cen and Estel began to give him a wider berth.

After the magic shops, the group went to the armory. Elven armor and weapons surpassed all others in the southern hemisphere save for those of dwarven make; unlike the dwarves, however, the elves saw the sense in pricing their goods in a reasonable range. The companions had already spent a good deal of their money on new spellbooks for Rath, however, so they did not have the means to buy much. Still, Cen and Estel seemed content just to look, though Estel did trade his rapier for a saber, and he spent a good deal of time examining a display of protective copper bracers, an item useful to mages and others who either could not or would not wear conventional armor.

Rath, eyes narrowed in slight suspicion, glanced over Estel's shoulder.

"It would be best if you kept your hands to yourself," he muttered.

Estel gave Rath an insulted look. "I _was_." He looked back at Cen, who was just handing the armorer a purse of silver, nearly the last of the stock from the _Charybdis_, in exchange for a pair of the copper armlets. Estel frowned as Cen turned and handed the armlet to Sapphire. "And Cen stole my idea, anyway." He looked back at the display of bracers, folding his arms and frowning in thought.

Rath did not move from his vigilant position. His eyes narrowed a bit more.

"Shall I alert Sapphire to what you are currently contemplating?"

Estel spun around to face him, scowling. "Would you cut it out? It'd be _helping_! We don't—"

"—have the leisure of wasting time in retrieving you from prison," Rath interrupted. He kept his voice low in a mild effort to prevent making a scene. "We suffered your behavior in Cornelia out of necessity only, not tolerance. Here, the situation is different, the constraints of time more vital. If you still feel inclined to ignore that, at the very least remember any negative attention you draw will not only reflect upon the entire group, but also and especially upon Sapphire. Would you truly wish to place her in a position where she must answer for your misdeeds?"

This brought Estel up short, and his anger faded. He looked around Rath to glance at Sapphire again, just as she put on the bracers to test their size. He gave a quiet, half-exasperated sigh as he looked back at Rath.

"Damn you. You _and_ your stupid logic."

Rath raised an eyebrow but did not reply. Estel brushed past him, making for the door and muttering to himself.

* * *

As planned, the Warriors of Light departed from Castle Elfheim the following morning. What they did not anticipate, however, was the great fanfare this prompted; it seemed that the entire city had turned out to see them off. This had Cen and Estel in very high spirits, both of them waving and cheering along with the crowd. Sapphire took it all with a sort of mild resignation, while Rath slouched down as he walked as though trying to disappear. He did not relax until they were well clear of Elfheim.

"How distant is this western keep?" he asked. Though the group had already gone a goodly distance from the edge of the city, now traversing one of the many broad, well-kept roads the elves maintained throughout their forested realm, he still looked faintly rattled. He held his staff very tightly to still his shaking hands.

"It's…" Sapphire thought for a moment. "If we go very quickly, then we should reach it in two weeks. I'm…I don't know for sure, though; I've never been there before."

Rath stopped walking and stared at her. "You do not know where it is?"

"Oh, lay off," Estel said, shoving Rath's shoulder as he passed. "It's fine; I grabbed a map before we left."

Cen grinned. "I bet they don't know you grabbed one."

Estel took on a very lofty expression. "I wouldn't call myself a proper thief if they did." He caught sight of Rath's glare and Sapphire's scandalized look and hurriedly added, "Don't worry, I'll return it. Gimme a little credit, huh?"

"You shouldn't have taken it in the first place," Sapphire said. "I thought you said you wouldn't do things like that anymore."

Estel frowned, both at what Sapphire had said and at the smug look that had just taken up residence in Rath's eyes.

"I _said_ I was gonna give it back. That's _borrowing_, not stealin'."

"But still—"

"I get it!" Estel said, more sharply than he intended. He immediately regretted this, as Sapphire looked both surprised and wounded. "Ah, geez… Look, Saph, I just mean that I _do_ remember what you said, but it's not like it's something I can fix all at once. Okay? It's like tellin' you to quit messin' with your sleeves like you do."

Sapphire looked at her hands with slight embarrassment. Estel continued.

"It's like a habit, right? And that ain't something you can just completely stop when someone says so. So, I'll be tryin', I promise, but you gotta bear with me, okay?"

After a moment, Sapphire looked up and nodded.

"All right. As long as you're trying."

"How touching," Rath said dully. "Now, if we may…" He gestured along the path. Sapphire began walking again at once, followed by Rath, then Cen and Estel, both shooting less than flattering looks at Rath's back.

The journey went well, the first week passing without incident. In the interest of haste, they only took brief pauses to sleep. This wore on Rath and Sapphire more than Cen and Estel, but the knowledge of the importance of their mission kept them going in spite of their growing fatigue. The forest became increasingly thicker as they went along, so that Cen became obliged to take the lead, hacking through the underbrush encroaching on the path so Rath and Sapphire could pass through unimpeded.

After another few days, the group reached a grassy clearing at the edge of a small lake, and, though the sun had not yet set fully, they stopped there to camp, intending to take a longer break this time to prevent wholly overtaxing themselves. As Cen and Estel set up camp, Sapphire volunteered Rath and herself to take the first watch for the night. Rath gave her an exasperated look but said nothing, while Estel looked surprised.

"You sure? I figured you'd wanna get as much sleep as you could."

"I…it's all right, really," Sapphire said, not quite meeting Estel's eye. "You and Cen can sleep first. You need it as much as we do, after all."

Estel did not look completely convinced by this, but he still nodded. "Yeah, okay. But you're _still_ gettin' a shorter watch. I don't care what you say; me and Cen can handle this, but you guys need the sleep."

Once the camp had been prepared, Cen and Estel fell asleep almost immediately. Rath, as he ever did when on watch, took one of the spellbooks from his pack and began to read, his eyes narrowed a bit so he could focus on the page in the firelight. Sapphire watched him, her shoulders a bit tense, and tried not to look as though she was watching.

Rath managed to ignore her for perhaps fifteen minutes. Finally, he looked up from his reading with a glare.

"That is exceedingly annoying."

"I'm sorry." Sapphire dropped her gaze but seemed determined not to lose her composure this time. She looked back at Rath before he had the chance to return to his book. "It's just…I mean, you're _always_ reading. I thought we could—"

"Talk," Rath finished for her, not sounding entirely pleased by the prospect. "Yes, I gathered. You request that rather frequently."

"Well, I _like_ talking with you," Sapphire said, smiling a little.

Rath raised an eyebrow in faint surprise. "Indeed."

Sapphire nodded.

Rath looked no more surprised at this, but he also did not protest. Sapphire took this as agreement, and she relaxed a bit.

"What did you think of Elfheim? It didn't seem like you'd been there before."

Rath's annoyance receded slightly.

"It is an impressive city, though its mages have much to learn by way of decorum. I have encountered undead with more tact."

Sapphire giggled behind her hand. "Yes, they are a bit…blunt that way. You're lucky you haven't met High Priest Rhimlath; he's even worse about behaving like that, especially with humans."

"Hm."

"I, ah…" Sapphire glanced at the fire, looking a bit uncomfortable again. "I noticed that…that you mended your robes." She gestured to his sleeve.

Rath shrugged. "I simply needed a satisfactory opportunity to do so. Certainly you did not expect me to leave them as they were?"

"No, of course not," Sapphire said quickly. "I just…" She shifted a little where she sat. "I was wondering why…why you don't just buy new robes, though. I mean, those are so old…"

"They fulfill my needs," Rath said, some of the edge returning to his voice. "I have no call to impress via my attire, and indeed, if I am underestimated because of it, all the better. In either case, I see no reason to waste money on such things."

"I…don't think it would be a waste. I mean, I…I receive new robes every year."

Rath's gaze became a bit cool. "Not all have the luxury of your opulent circumstances, _Priestess_."

Sapphire's face went pink, and she averted her gaze.

"I'm sorry, I…"

Rath waved away her apology. "I merely wished to point out a difference of situation. Frugality has always been my preferred philosophy, even when not necessary, though it has not been yours. To that end, I believe a great many things to be more important than new clothing."

Sapphire, recovering a bit, turned back to look at Rath. "Like what?"

Rath was silent for a moment, staring off into the darkness outside the clearing. "Imagine this choice: you are in a situation where you may either purchase a meal, perhaps the only one you will receive within the next week or more, or you may purchase clothing. Which is of greater importance?"

"Food, of course," Sapphire said, eyes widening. "But…but you can't have…I mean, you haven't really faced a choice like that, have you?"

"I was speaking hypothetically," Rath said, brushing her comment aside again, though his eyes did narrow.

"Yes… Yes, of course." Sapphire watched him, looking puzzled and more than a little concerned. "You know, I…you haven't ever spoken about…about what your life was like before we all met. Why not?"

Rath's shoulders stiffened. "Because there is little to say concerning it."

There was a brief pause, broken only by the crackling of the campfire. Cen began snoring quietly.

Finally, Sapphire gathered her courage enough to speak again. "Well, if…if there isn't much to say, then…would it really be so bad to tell what there is to tell?"

"May I inquire as to the reasoning for your insistence on the matter?" Rath asked, seeming to be trying very hard to keep from snapping at her.

"I just…I'm curious. I mean, Cen and Estel have told about what they did before, and so have I, so…" Sapphire bit her lip, her expression somehow both hopeful and anxious. "What about you?"

Another pause, more tense than the previous one.

"I lived in Onrac," Rath said at last, speaking tersely. He made a distinct point of not making eye contact with Sapphire. "You have already guessed that much. Some years ago, I left, and I have done little more than travel since then."

"Oh…" Sapphire frowned a bit. "I see. How…how long ago did you leave?"

"That is irrelevant."

The sharpness of his tone brought Sapphire up short. She stared at him for a moment before attempting to shift the topic.

"I…I suppose it is… Then…" She paused, trying to think of something else to ask about. "How old are you?"

Rath's tense posture relaxed a bit, but not much. "Twenty."

"Really?" Sapphire looked surprised. "I had thought you were older than that. I mean, you seem so much more mature than Cen or Estel."

"That is not a difficult task," Rath said, casting a mildly contemptuous look at the sleeping forms of his companions. "I have known children who behave with greater maturity than that pair."

"That…that's not a very nice thing to say."

"Perhaps not, but I have no intention of retracting it."

Sapphire frowned. She glanced over at Cen and Estel, just as Estel, mostly still asleep, turned over and kicked Cen to make him quit snoring. Cen snorted, half-waking, then rolled onto his side and went straight back to sleep, silently this time.

"I know you don't get along with them," Sapphire said, turning back to Rath, "but they are good people, for…for the most part." She shot a quick look at Estel as she said this. "Can you at least admit that?"

"Certainly," Rath said, inclining his head slightly. "Doing so does not, however, negate my comment concerning their level of maturity."

Sapphire sighed and shook her head. She stared off across the clearing to where the faint moonlight reflected off the ruffled surface of the lake. Rath turned back to his book and resumed reading. After a moment, however, Sapphire looked at him again.

"Rath? Do you…do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Rath's hands tightened around the book.

"Why," he said, not looking up from the page, "do you have such a keen interest in my personal life, in spite of my repeated assertions of its dullness?"

Sapphire stammered for a moment, not sure how to answer this. "I just…I, I mean, not all of it can be dull, can it? I…I was wondering because…well, I wanted to know if I'm the only one here who's an only child. I know Cen isn't, and Estel…I guess he wouldn't really know if he was or not, strictly speaking, so…"

"Ah. I see." Rath glanced at her, looking only marginally placated, then looked back at his spellbook. "Yes, I have siblings."

"How many?"

"Several."

Sapphire frowned at the sudden return of his abruptness. "I…well, are there a lot, or just one or two?"

"Several," Rath repeated, shooting a glare at her.

"What are they like?"

"As I have not seen them for a number of years, I have no way of knowing."

"I…then, well, what _were_ they like?"

"It does not matter," Rath said, his voice growing sharp as his patience began to wear thin.

Sapphire fell silent, watching Rath with a mixture of concern and confusion. Rath returned his focus to his book, but he only managed to read another two lines before Sapphire spoke again.

"Why did you leave Onrac?"

"You ask far too many questions," Rath snapped. "Be silent for once so I can have a chance to get something _useful_ accomplished." He gave Sapphire a venomous look, then returned his attention to his book and ignored her entirely.

Sapphire looked very hurt. She turned away, starting to tug at her sleeves, and stared into the small campfire.

Somewhere, a fair distance from the companions' campsite, a pack of wargs sent up a chorus of howls. Sapphire jumped.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered.

Rath gave no reply. Sapphire looked over her shoulder, then peered around into the empty blackness of the forest outside the circle of firelight. She tugged her hood closer around her face.

There came another round of howls, sounding closer this time. Disregarding Rath's unsociable attitude, Sapphire scooted closer to him, huddling against him. With an attitude of utmost nonchalance, Rath leaned away. His eyes did not leave his book.

More howling. Sapphire cringed.

"Rath, they're getting closer. Shouldn't we do something?"

Rath turned a page. "They are not approaching," he said. "It is a trick of echoes."

Sapphire bit her lip and looked back over her shoulder again. "Are you sure? Could you…could you just check?"

Rath gave a frustrated sigh, slammed the book shut, and held his hand out in front of him. A small puffball flame appeared above his outstretched hand, and, with a few sharp gestures, he sent the flame around the campsite in a wide circle, illuminating the clearing. After a thorough search of the area, which revealed no signs of approaching creatures of any variety, the puffball flame returned to Rath and disappeared in a wisp of smoke. He looked at Sapphire.

"Satisfied?" he snapped.

Sapphire nodded, looking chastened, and slid back to her own seat.

It was quiet for the rest of the watch.

* * *

Though they did allow themselves a longer rest this time, the companions still left before the sun rose, to Estel's great annoyance. As they cleaned up the camp, Sapphire told Cen and Estel about the wolves she had heard that night.

"Yeah, we heard them on our watch too," Cen said, nodding. "We're lucky they didn't come after us."

According to Estel's map, if they kept a good pace they would be able to reach the western keep within four days. The journey went smoothly, barring a few run-ins with packs of wargs; if anyone found this lack of opposition suspicious, however, they kept the opinion to themselves. The companions followed the narrowing path through another patch of forest, this one riddled with babbling streamlets, before emerging onto a flat plain of fire-blasted earth. The line between verdant forest and parched wasteland was unnaturally straight, as though it had been drawn with a ruler.

Sapphire stared around with wide eyes, her hand going involuntarily to her mouth. Estel gaped, opening and closing his mouth a few times before being able to produce something coherent.

"What the _hell_?"

"The result of an intense magical battle," Rath said, eyes narrowed as he surveyed the scorched land, searching for signs of movement. "It seems Astos and the king did meet and do battle here."

Sapphire nodded, lowering her hand and swallowing hard.

Rath glanced at her. "I doubt anything survived this."

"Oh…" Sapphire stammered a little, not meeting Rath's eyes. "Well, we…we should still check. The keep isn't far now."

"If you insist." Rath turned away and resumed his study of the land.

"Just Astos and the king did all this?" Estel said, looking shocked. He turned away from the blackened plain and looked at Sapphire. "Seriously?"

"I…" Sapphire hesitated. "I suppose so…"

Estel swore under his breath.

"And we're still going to check the keep…" Cen frowned. "And what if Astos somehow didn't get killed in all this and he's still there?"

There was a tense pause before Sapphire replied.

"We run, and pray that he doesn't come after us."

Another pause, this one longer, as everyone digested this information.

"It seems," Rath said at length, having finished scanning the wasteland, "this land has been completely emptied of life. If any of Astos's followers remain alive, they have fled the area."

Sapphire sighed in relief. "Good. That means there's less chance of him still being here as well."

"Then let's go," Cen said, and started onward once more.

The companions made their way cautiously across the wasteland, Cen and Rath both keeping a lookout for any movement. Still, no signs of life presented themselves, and the group continued on unmolested. After only a short time, they arrived at their destination, situated in the exact center of the magic-blasted area.

Once, the keep might have resembled Castle Elfheim, save on a smaller scale; now it looked like a mildly-organized heap of rubble. Fallen stone completely covered what must have been the main entryway, but enough gaping holes had been blasted in the walls that this did not matter. Chunks and slabs of stone lay in a wide blast radius around the place.

Estel, easily the stealthiest of the group, took the lead now. He made his way over to one of the gaps in the outer wall, and the others followed him, treading as lightly as possible to avoid making even the slightest noise. He crouched down at the edge of the opening and poked his head around so he could peer inside. After a moment, he drew back and nodded to the others.

"All clear. Let's head in."

The inside looked like a maze. The walls of what had once been corridors and rooms had collapsed on one another, forming new, aimless passageways. Estel moved forward into this psuedo-labyrinth, his progress slow as he tried to negotiate the smashed and debris-strewn floor without making any sound. The others followed, Sapphire right behind him, then Rath, then Cen.

Estel stopped beside a gap leading into a long, nearly intact corridor and turned back to the others.

"We just searchin' the whole place, or what?"

"As that seems to be our sole option, then yes." Rath looked around with narrowed eyes. "I doubt this will be a simple task."

"Split up, or stick together?" Cen asked. His hand rested on his sword hilt.

"Um…" Estel glanced around. "Stick together. This Astos guy doesn't sound like someone you wanna run into on your own, y'know?"

The group entered the corridor and proceeded along it. At one end lay the small, rubble-choked entrance hall, but at the other, to the companions' surprise, stood an unblocked doorway. Piles of broken stone sat heaped on both sides of it, but the arch itself looked perfectly intact. Beyond the arch, a room could be seen, moderate in size but grand, looking almost untouched by the ravages of the magical battle. Against the far wall stood a throne with a hunched, green- and gold-clad figure seated upon it.

Sapphire gasped and started forward.

"Your Mm—!"

Before she could go more than two steps, Rath grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back, clamping his hand over her mouth.

"Be silent!" he hissed. He nodded toward the doorway, indicating something Sapphire had not seen: two dark elves standing guard inside the room, off in the corners and almost out of sight.

Unfortunately, even with Rath's intervention, the guards noticed the sounds out in the corridor. They turned, their gnarled, green-skinned hands going to their swords, and began moving toward the doorway.

The companions ducked behind the nearest heap of rubble, Rath not relinquishing his hold on Sapphire and keeping his hand firmly over her mouth. The pair of dark elves entered the corridor. They did not look anything like the elves of Elfheim; they were hunched and twisted, broad-shouldered but thin-limbed, their green skin marked with dark blue tattoos and their long ears bearing many piercings. Sapphire made a sound of disgust against Rath's hand, and he tightened his grip to silence her.

The pair of elves looked around the corridor, but though they found nothing to explain the noise, they did not return to the chamber. Instead, they began to search, down the corridor and behind the piles of rubble.

Cen and Estel crouched on the ground and tried to keep their breathing steady and quiet to prevent drawing the elves' attention. Even so, Cen's hand remained on his sword hilt, and Estel began, inch by inch, to reach for his saber. Rath drew back into a shadowy corner, pulling Sapphire with him, his eyes narrowed while hers were wide open as her breathing quickened.

The elves drew nearer. Before they could search around the companions' hiding place, however, a loud crunch echoed from a distant part of the keep. The guards looked up, then left the corridor via the hole in the wall to investigate.

Estel sagged against the pile of rock in relief.

"Too close," he muttered under his breath. "Too damn close."

"My thoughts precisely," Rath said. He released Sapphire and moved to face her. "Learn to restrain yourself in the future. We were fortunate this time, but that will not always be the case."

Sapphire did not answer. Even apart from the brief scare with the dark elves, having Rath hold her against him with his arm around her waist had quite overwhelmed her. After a moment, she managed to nod.

"Good." Rath turned away. "If we are to retrieve the king, we must do so swiftly; the guards may return at any moment."

Knowing better than to argue at this point, Cen and Estel darted into the chamber; Rath and Sapphire followed them. No other guards waited inside, and as the companions made their way across the stone floor, Sapphire hurried forward to take the lead.

"Your Majesty!" She hurried forward and dropped to her knees in front of the throne. "I'm glad to find you alive!"

The king gestured for her to rise. "Barely alive…I am afraid," he said, his breathing labored. His fine features looked ashen, drawn and almost withered, as though he was in the throes of some wasting disease. "Astos…deceived me; when I came here…I met not only him but also an ambush by his people. We fought…but their strength proved…too much for me. And…instead of slaying me…they have imprisoned me here." He stopped for breath, the effort of so much speech almost too much for him.

"Why?" Estel said. He and the others had approached more slowly, and both Estel and Rath now watched the king with thinly disguised mistrust. "Why would they wanna keep you alive?"

"For their entertainment," the king said, looking at Estel with tired eyes. "Astos comes here often…to gloat over my downfall…and the fall of my kingdom. He believes that his…victory is assured now."

"Come with us, Your Majesty," Sapphire insisted, taking a step toward him. "We came here to find you and take you back to Elfheim with us. Once you're there, everything will be all right."

The king shook his head. "I cannot go. I am far too weak to travel as I am…and Astos's people would certainly give chase…were I to vanish." He looked at Sapphire, and a faint light came into his eyes. "Nothing can be done…without my crown. With the magic it holds…I could restore myself and destroy Astos…and all his people here, and we could leave in peace. But…" He shook his head, his eyes downcast. "No doubt Astos has…found the crown by now. Elfheim will be destroyed."

"He has _not_ found it, Your Majesty," Sapphire said firmly. "Chancellor Eredon has hidden it away under the protection of the Guardians."

"It is safe?" The king looked up, something like relief in his eyes. "Good… That is good. Please…" He reached a shaking, brittle-looking hand out imploringly to Sapphire. "You must…bring it to me. Astos must not be allowed…to go unpunished for all that he has done."

"Of course we will, Your Majesty," Sapphire said, speaking over Estel as started to protest. "We'll return with it as swiftly as we can, I promise."

"Thank you… Now, quickly…go, before the guards return."

Sapphire nodded, gave a quick curtsy, then turned and all but sprinted from the room before any of the others could speak. Exchanging wary and suspicious looks, they hurried after her.

* * *

"This isn't a good idea."

As soon as the companions set foot on the blackened wasteland outside the keep, it became clear not everyone agreed with Sapphire's resolve. Estel in particular looked ready to dig in his heels.

"Listen," he said, as though explaining something to a very obtuse person, "I've been around lyin', scummy people almost all my life; I know 'em when I see 'em. And this guy—" He jerked his thumb back toward the keep. "—beats out anyone I ever met. Gettin' the crown for him is a very, _very_ bad idea."

Sapphire shook her head, not slackening her pace in the least. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Wanna bet? Saph, think about it." Estel hurried forward and grabbed Sapphire's arm, pulling her to a halt. "He says he's a prisoner, but why would the dark elves leave him here, where people are gonna be sure to look for him?"

Sapphire scowled and pulled her arm away, but Estel persisted.

"He's been out here for four months, right? Even if he did get outta that fight in one piece, which I wouldn't believe'd happen even if you paid me, how the hell hasn't he died from what happened by now anyway? It doesn't make sense."

"I…" The determined look on Sapphire's face wavered a little. "But, it was him! He was sitting right there! Who else could it have been?"

"If Astos is as powerful as you say," Rath said, "is it not conceivable he created an illusion to fool any who entered the keep?"

"I suppose…"

"And, if it was truly the king we encountered, there is every possibility he is simply being used as bait for a trap, part of a plan to win Astos the crown without it being necessary for him to approach the Guardians himself."

"Exactly," Estel said. "How do we know we're not just gettin' sent down there to get ambushed or something?"

When Sapphire did not reply, Estel turned to Cen. "C'mon, back me up."

Cen frowned, one finger tapping against the pommel of his sword.

"Yeah, you're right," he said at last, and Estel looked vindicated. "This is all really dangerous." He looked at Sapphire. "Let's just go back to Elfheim and let the elves know about this. They could go get the crown and bring it back to the king themselves instead."

Sapphire shook her head, a mulish look coming over her face. "We don't have time for that. Didn't you see how awful he looked? He might not be able to last that long, and…and anyway, the faster we can get him back to Elfheim, the faster we can get everything fixed and get on our way again."

This piqued Cen's interest.

"How long would it take to go ourselves?"

"Just a couple of weeks there and back, if we hurry, I think."

"And if we asked the elves to go?"

"Two months, or more."

Estel looked insulted. "Cen, what're you doin'?"

"We need to hurry," Cen said, giving Estel a look. "If this has to be sorted out before we can get anywhere, then the faster we can get it sorted out, the better. I'd rather be able to get to Melmond sooner instead of later, or too late."

"And how will you get there at all if this _is_ a trick and we end up like this?" Estel kicked the charred, cracked earth at his feet.

"Well, we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen, then."

When Estel continued to look offended, Cen sighed and shook his head.

"Look, I don't like this either. I'm sorry," he added as an aside to Sapphire, "but it's true; this all looks really suspicious, and I wouldn't trust that guy in there as far as I could kick him." He turned back to Estel. "But it's all down to just getting out of here as fast as we can, and if this is the fastest way, then this is what we'll do. We don't really have any other choice."

"Regrettably," Rath said, eyes narrowed as he glanced at Sapphire. "You certainly do have a penchant for inserting us into situations from which we cannot extricate ourselves."

Sapphire stammered a bit and glanced away, but she quickly composed herself and looked back, her stubborn expression back in place.

"I don't care if you don't believe me. That _was_ the king back there, and this isn't a trap. And…and I won't disobey an order from my king."

Rath inclined his head in sarcastic acquiescence, then turned and started out across the wasteland again, blackened dust stirring up in his wake. Cen followed him, as did Estel and Sapphire. Estel, however, shot Sapphire a very chilly look as they went.

"You're makin' a huge mistake. I can't believe you trust that lyin' bastard."

Sapphire did not reply. Estel shook his head.

"Fine. But just because we're goin' along with this doesn't mean we like it, and it doesn't mean I ain't gonna call you on it if it all gets screwed sideways."

Not even waiting for a response, Estel dropped back to take up the rear, leaving Sapphire walking by herself.


	11. More Than Meets The Eye

**Chapter 11: More Than Meets the Eye**

Caraxë Marsh lay almost directly south of the western keep, separated from the forests by a series of rolling hills. The companions had expected to see something similar to the marshes in Cornelia: stretches of shallow water mixed with reed-beds, the flatness occasionally broken by a patch of scrubby bushes or small trees. Caraxë Marsh was a different entity entirely. Deep, sluggish rivers wound among islands and spits of land on which grew tall, moss-draped trees whose roots arched through the air before plunging into the water below. Finding a path from islet to islet proved difficult at best, and near impossible at the worst: when the water was deep, and what seemed to be a waiting patch of dry land proved to be a well-disguised quagmire. And Marsh Cave, the companions' destination, lay at the southernmost end of this seemingly impassible swamp.

Nearly two weeks had passed since the companions had left the western keep, and their current position did nothing to improve the general ill mood that had fallen over the group. Estel seemed to be taking a bizarre kind of pleasure in letting his frustration loose on this newest form of torment, and for once, neither Rath nor Cen seemed inclined to silence him. Cen led the way, having proven himself the most adept at finding paths and keeping the group going in the right direction. Rath came next, then Estel, grumbling his complaints, and Sapphire brought up the rear, her robes stained dull green and brown by the mud and water.

"How much farther?" Estel groaned as the group waded across yet another river. The water might only have come to their waists, had the mud at the bottom not pulled them down an extra few inches. Estel jerked his foot out of the gummy slime with more force than necessary, almost making himself fall face-first into the water. He steadied himself just in time and gave a growl of frustration.

"I hate this! Even if we are doin' this for the right guy, I'm _still_ gonna kill him when we get back!"

"Loath as I am to do so, I may be forced to agree with you," Rath said, his tone sour. He looked particularly bedraggled, his sodden robes weighing him down and the brim of his hat drooping over his eyes.

"It could be worse," Cen said, mounting the next bank and testing the solidity of the islet with a branch he had picked up. "This place could be twice as big as it is."

Estel scowled at him. "Oh, that makes me feel _so_ much better."

Rath stepped up on shore beside Cen. "What distance yet remains before us?"

"Not much," Cen answered. "I'm guessing the entrance to the cave is only two or three islands away. So…" He thought for a moment. "Maybe an hour more?"

"Not if we hurry."

Estel brushed past Cen and hurried onward, only to step into a mire that made up the opposite side of the islet and sink up to his waist in mud, peat, and water. With a sigh of resignation, Cen walked over to his ranting friend and hauled him out of the muck.

Cen's estimation proved correct; within an hour, just as the sun touched the horizon, they reached another island, this one larger than any of the others they had traversed. At the center of this island lay a hole about five feet in diameter. The echo of falling water drops could be heard coming from its depths, and cool mist rose from it.

"That's Marsh Cave," Sapphire said, speaking for the first time that day.

Cen stared at it. "It's a hole."

"It's very deep," Sapphire continued as though she had not heard this. "We'll need a rope to get down."

Before Sapphire even finished her sentence, Cen took a long rope from his pack and began tying it around a thick tree near the hole. He gave the rope a tug, then turned to the others, a satisfied look on his face.

"Unless someone comes along and unties it," he said, "this rope will hold and stay here until we get back. I'll lower each of you down, then climb down myself. So…" He held out the free end of the rope. "Who wants to go first?"

"I will," Sapphire said without hesitation.

She took the rope, tied it firmly around her waist, and knelt down at the edge of the hole, her feet hanging over the pit. She glanced at Cen, who already had a solid grip on the rope, then braced her hands on the brink and lowered herself into the hole. Cen tensed as Sapphire let the rope take her full weight. Hand over hand, he started lowering her down. After a little more than a minute, the rope went slack.

"I've reached the bottom," Sapphire called up, her voice faint.

"Okay, good," Cen called back. "Get some lights going; we're on our way."

After hauling the rope up, Cen lowered Rath into the cavern. Once the mage had safely reached the bottom, the rope came back, and Cen offered the end to Estel.

"Okay, pal. Your turn."

Estel did not reply, his gaze fixed on the yawning black pit. A look of growing trepidation appeared in his eyes.

"Ah… Y'know what, I think I'll stay up here. To, ah, guard the rope, or something. Okay? No point us all goin' in there just to get that one little crown, huh? Right?" He said this last word with slight desperation.

For a moment, Cen looked surprised. Then his expression became more serious, and he glanced from Estel to the cave and back.

"It's just a cave," he said. "It'll be okay, really."

Estel gave a short, nervous laugh. "Yeah. Sure. Thanks, but no. I'll stay here."

Cen raised an eyebrow. "And what if a swarm of undead or band of ogres turns up?" he asked. "You'd fight them off all by yourself?"

Estel muttered something inaudible, not meeting Cen's eye. Cen nodded.

"That's what I thought. And then what if we run into something down there and need your help? You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if something happened."

Estel did not answer, but after a moment, he snatched the rope from Cen's grip, tied it around his waist, and went over to the hole so he could be lowered down, muttering curses under his breath the whole way.

Once Estel had reached the bottom, Cen climbed down himself. He hung the loose end of the rope over a rock protruding from the wall so it was not lying on the wet ground, then scanned his surroundings.

The narrow tunnel leading from the surface came to an end in a small alcove in the side of a long passageway that stretched out to the left and right. Rath had conjured a small puffball flame, which was exploring the short section of tunnel the companions currently occupied, while Sapphire had a marshlight hovering over her outstretched hand. The light glimmered on the dank, earthen walls. Puddles and streamlets riddled the ground, and tangles of hair-thin roots hung from the low ceiling. The smell of wet earth and decaying plants hung heavy in the air.

Estel, still standing in the alcove, glanced plaintively at Cen. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," Cen said. He turned to the others. "Which way, Sapphire?"

Sapphire pointed down the tunnel to the right, which sloped downward slightly. "There. The vaults are at the very bottom of the cave."

Estel gave an almost inaudible whimper. Cen clapped him on the shoulder before starting out into the tunnel.

Sapphire led the way down the passage, her little marshlight in her hand, and Rath brought up the rear, the puffball flame floating beside him. Cen kept his hand on his sword hilt, while Estel looked around with great unease, his eyes wide and worried. Bats, disturbed by the sudden appearance of the companions, flapped and fluttered around their heads. Estel yelped and ducked whenever one came too near him.

Before long, the group reached a new hole in the ground, this one with a sort of ladder composed of stones fitted into the side providing a means of descending to the second level of the cave. The companions made their way down, and found themselves in an open cavern rather than a narrow tunnel. Here, wide puddles covered most of the floor, and anything not submerged bore a thick layer of slimy mud: green, grey, and brown. More water dripped from the ceiling, the sound echoing through the cavern.

"Ah, gods," Estel muttered, looking around as he came down after Cen. "This just keeps gettin' better…"

"At least it's not all closed up now," Cen said, trying to sound reassuring.

Estel nodded, the movement stiff and forced.

Rath came down the ladder last but did so without his small flame. He approached Sapphire and held his hand out to her. Sapphire stared at him for a moment, then realized what he meant and conjured another light. Rath scooped it from her palm.

"Why'd you do that?" Cen asked, frowning.

"I would rather not detonate the entire area by bringing an open flame into this place," Rath said, looking at Cen as though this should have been obvious.

Cen blinked a few times. "Right," he said finally. "Whatever. Let's keep going."

They waded their way across the cavern. A sickly, ripe odor oozed up from the water and slime at their feet. In the center of the cavern stood a bulge of drier earth, its top clear but its sides caked with slime. The companions climbed this so Sapphire could get her bearings.

"It…should be this way," she said after a moment, pointing to her left. "But—"

Before she could finish, the ground beneath her feet trembled, heaved, split apart, and a bony hand burst out, grabbing at her ankles. She jumped back with a cry, just as more fissures opened and six skeletons, bones crusted with dried blood and arteries, pulled themselves from the earth. Estel recoiled, treading in a puddle of green slime; the slime slithered away from his foot, then rounded on him, trying to wrap itself around his leg. All pretense of self-control forgotten, Estel panicked and screamed.

Cen turned to him at once, drawing his sword and slashing at the slime, but the weapon had no effect on the quivering blob. Estel started kicking and thrashing, trying to shake the thing loose, but the more he fought, the angrier it seemed to become.

The skeletons surrounded Rath and Sapphire, herding them toward the cracks in the center of the bulge of earth. Rath held his staff ready to attack, and Sapphire fell back behind him, her eyes wide and terrified. At Estel's cry, however, she looked over at him and Cen for just a moment, then, swallowing hard, she stepped forward beside Rath and held up her hand, murmuring under her breath. Her hand began to glow, and from it radiated gentle beams of pure white light, like sunlight. As these innocent-looking beams struck the skeletons, they drew back, hissing. Sapphire repeated the spell, and the skeletons dissolved to dust.

Rath raised an eyebrow. "Impressive."

Sapphire blushed, but before she could reply, Rath turned to Cen and Estel's fight. The creature had wholly engulfed one of Estel's legs and begun crawling up his torso. Cen's strikes did no good in hindering the attack; even if he cut a piece of slime away, it merely rejoined the main part. Estel punched at the thing, but to no avail; it just prompted the slime to grab at his hands as well.

"Move," Rath said, holding his hand toward Estel. Cen jumped away.

The air around Rath's hand began to glimmer, and a chill, translucent rush of energy flew from his palm and hit the slime. A blossom of ice crystals formed where it struck, growing outward until they covered and filled the entire creature, then they shattered, breaking the slime into dozens of tiny, frozen pieces.

Estel stumbled back and fell to the ground, his breathing rapid and uneven. Cen sheathed his sword and went to Estel's side.

"Okay, calm down. You're fine now."

Estel shook his head, his hands clenched. "I can't do this. I wanna go back out."

"Estel—"

"No! I wanna leave!"

An uncomfortable silence fell. Estel, still breathing hard, squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his fists to the ground, while Cen remained kneeling beside him, waiting for him to get control of himself. Sapphire watched them, her eyes widened in surprise and concern.

"I…"

Cen and Rath looked at her, and she took a step away, quailing a bit under their stares. Still, she tried again:

"I'm… Estel, I'm sorry, I…I didn't know this would be so hard for you…"

Estel just shook his head, not opening his eyes.

After another pause, Cen put his hand on Estel's shoulder. Estel jerked as though to recoil from the touch, but then went still again.

"All right," Cen said. "Do you think you can keep going now?"

"…No."

"But will you?"

A pause, then Estel nodded. "Not like I got a choice, right?"

Sapphire looked away in discomfort.

Once Estel had gotten to his feet, the group continued onward. In a far corner of the cavern lay a narrow, downward-sloping tunnel. This opened onto another cavern, and here the water covered the entire floor, reaching as high as the companions' knees. In this cavern lay the vaults, large chambers constructed of some speckled stone not native to the region. After some searching—interrupted by another attack by green slime, swiftly thwarted by Rath—Sapphire located the correct chamber. The vault's heavy metal door stood unlocked and open slightly.

"Wait," Cen said, frowning as Sapphire reached out to open the door the rest of the way. "You said something about guardians, right? What's going to be in there?"

Sapphire stopped, her eyebrows drawn together in thought.

"I…don't know what they are," she said after a moment. "They're just…some kind of creature the elves enchanted to stand as protectors for the crown, should it be sent here. I think…" She hesitated. "I think they were chosen because…because they're something that dark elves don't like very much."

Cen's hand went reflexively to his sword hilt.

"Will we have to fight them?"

"We…I don't think so. I mean, we were sent by the king, so we shouldn't have to, but…" Sapphire glanced at the others. "But it…that's not a reason not to be careful."

"That is the most intelligent thing you have said in days," Rath said, shooting a chilly look at Sapphire.

Sapphire averted her gaze, blushing a bit, and turned back to the door. She pushed it open and entered the chamber, the others following just behind her.

"Think you'll be able to deal with a fight?" Cen asked Estel in an undertone.

Estel, looking pale and shaky, apparently did not trust himself to open his mouth, but he did nod.

Just like the rest of the cavern, knee-deep water covered the floor of the vault, though a narrow stone curb jutted out of the water along the wall. In the center of the room sat a chest on a raised pedestal surrounded by seven statues: the Guardians. Each stood eight feet tall. They bore long staves, and though humanoid in appearance, their heads looked grotesque, shaped like some kind of octopus. Sapphire stared at them in disgust, but Cen and even Estel looked almost relieved.

"Oh, _that's_ all," Cen said. "That's not as bad as I thought it would be."

Sapphire looked back at him, confused. "It's not? What are they?"

"They're called…" Cen frowned. "…piscodemons, I think. They're pretty mean, so that's bad, but me and Estel have had to deal with them before. It'll be okay."

Sapphire nodded, then, casting another look at the statues, she approached the chest and opened it. A small wooden box lay inside it. Sapphire picked it up and lifted the lid; inside sat the crown, a neat tangle of silver dotted with small opals like dewdrops, glittering in the glow of the marshlights. She waited, and when the Guardians did not move, she shut the box and turned back to the others.

"All right. Let's go."

The companions started toward the door, but they froze when they heard the sound of crumbling rock behind them.

Three of the statues had come to life, the stone breaking away to reveal cloth and flesh, their dark eyes flashing, the tentacles hanging from their faces twisting and writhing. The piscodemons stepped down from their pedestals and toward the companions, each holding the tip of its staff up before its face as though in a salute.

Estel groaned. "Oh, sh—"

The foremost Guardian gave a burbling cry, and all three rushed forward. Cen, blade drawn, stepped up to meet them. The first swung its staff down hard at him; he blocked it, but the blow still drove him down to his knees. The other two Guardians moved toward Sapphire, and she clutched the box to her chest, backing away. Estel's eyes widened, but instead of panicking, he sprang into action: he darted to the side and held his hands out to Sapphire.

"Throw it here!"

Shooting a frightened look at the approaching Guardians, Sapphire turned and tossed the box to Estel. He caught it, and the two piscodemons rounded on him.

Cen got to his feet just in time to avoid another strike from his opponent. Hissing, the piscodemon stepped away and leveled its staff at Cen; with a subsonic _whump_, a blast of energy shot from the tip, slamming Cen backward into the water with a splash. He came up coughing and choking, struggling to regain his breath and rise again.

Estel tried to jump away and escape his pursuers, but they hemmed him in with blows from their staves and backed him onto the curb in a corner. Shielding the box, he could not protect himself, and he began to crumple under the Guardians' assault. Sapphire, her face stark white, tried to push past the piscodemons to get to Estel, but they flung her back with hardly any effort. Almost wailing in dismay and frustration, she thrust her arm between one piscodemon and the wall, beckoning to Estel.

"Estel, throw it! Now, please, they're going to kill you!"

But Estel did not move from his curled up, defensive position around the crown's box.

Rath stepped forward into the center of the room.

"Get out of the water!" he shouted, voice rising over the din.

Cen jumped back, his opponent's staff slamming down into the water where he had just been standing. At Rath's shout, he backed up farther, climbing onto the narrow curb of stone. Sapphire also clambered up, but in an effort to shove past the piscodemons attacking Estel, not because of Rath. Rath began murmuring under his breath, and, as Cen's opponent moved in pursuit and a Guardian rounded on Sapphire, he thrust his hands into the water.

Even the other companions felt a tingle as the Thunder spell jolted out from him. The piscodemons shrieked and recoiled, tentacles twisting and contorting as the electricity shot through their bodies. Rath screamed in pain as his own spell struck him full-force, his body jerking and the air around him crackling as the current turned back on itself. This lasted only a moment before the spell shorted out its source; there was a deafening snap, a flash of light, and Rath slumped over into the water.

Before the Guardians could recover, the companions took up the offensive. Cen swept the head from the piscodemon before him, then jumped down and rushed to the far corner, where the two remaining Guardians had Estel and Sapphire cornered. He rammed his blade through the back of one, and it fell, jerking the sword from his hand. Its dark blood stained the surface of the water. Before Cen could free his weapon, the last piscodemon shook off the effects of Rath's spell; it turned, seized Estel by the neck, and threw him against the far wall. His head struck a protruding ridge of stone, and he fell, first to the curb, then into the water, unconscious. The box slipped from his grip, and the Guardian turned and started toward it, hand already stretching out to take it.

Cen, sword back in hand, slashed open the backs of its legs, and the piscodemon fell to its knees with a burbling shriek. Cen swung his blade back to decapitate it, but before he could, Sapphire, breathing hard, jumped down from the curb, pulled her hammer from her belt, and slammed it into the Guardian's head. The head shattered, and the body fell forward, lifeless.

Cen looked at Sapphire in surprise, wiping the splattered blood from his face. "Good shot. Are you sure you need me to help you use that?"

Before Sapphire could reply, Rath shuddered and straightened up, coughing. Sapphire returned her hammer to her belt and rushed over to him.

"Are you all right?"

Rath looked at her with bloodshot eyes.

"I have certainly had better moments," he said, his voice rougher than usual, as though his throat had been scoured with sand. He started coughing again, but he raised a shaking hand toward Sapphire, forestalling any comments or assistance. "It is of no consequence; I am well enough. See to Estel."

Sapphire scarcely had to be told; she hurried over to where Estel lay half-submerged, his head cricked back over the curb of stone. A trickle of blood ran from beneath his bandana and down his neck.

"Oh…" Sapphire put her hand to her mouth, then reached out and gently tapped Estel's cheek. "Estel? Estel, can you hear me?"

After a tense moment, Estel groaned and opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, then tried to focus on Sapphire's face. Once he did, he actually smiled a little.

"I'm dreamin', right?"

Sapphire shook her head. "Hold still." She removed Estel's bandana and felt the back of his head. "Where does it hurt?"

Estel gave a hollow laugh and winced. "You want the whole list?"

Sapphire sighed, then held her hands out over him as she began murmuring under her breath. The air around her hands glimmered, and sparkling blue light, brighter than that of her usual Cure spell, flowed out and enveloped Estel. When it faded, he was able to straighten up and stand. He stared around the dank room and promptly looked ready to fall right back over.

"We're still down here?"

"Where else would we be?" Cen asked as he finished wiping off his sword and sheathed it. "You and Rath were both out, and it's not like I could carry both of you."

"Right…" Estel shut his eyes. "But we can leave _now_, right?"

"I think so." Cen looked at Sapphire getting to her feet. "Are we good to go?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes. Oh, but…" She looked around. "Where's the crown?"

"I have it." Rath, back on his feet, had picked up the box and now held it at arm's length. He handed it to Sapphire, who tucked it inside her pack.

"All right, then." Cen looked around at the dead piscodemons. "That wasn't so bad. I told you we could do it."

"If they _all_ had attacked, it would have been more difficult," Sapphire said, glancing at the remaining statues. "I…suppose they didn't think we were really a threat."

An uneasy silence fell. Cen looked at the four Guardians, eyes narrowing.

"So what are they thinking now?"

Cracks began to appear in the surfaces of the statues.

Cen's hand went to his sword again, but Estel had had enough. As soon as he heard the cracking stone, he opened his eyes and sprinted out the door, not even waiting for the others. They took the hint: Cen dashed after him, Rath and Sapphire right behind, throwing their marshlights forward to light the way. Faint behind them came the Guardians' burbling cries.

The group did not stop their flight through the cave until they reached the tunnel leading to the surface. Estel slumped against the wall, gasping for breath, his arms wrapped around his stomach and his eyes squeezed shut. Cen turned and peered back down the passageway as he caught his breath.

"I think we lost them."

"I hope so," Sapphire said, also leaning against the wall and breathing hard, clutching at a stitch in her side. She straightened and looked up the long tunnel; in the tiny circle of sky visible, stars glittered. "Let's get out of here."

Estel could not breathe well enough to reply, but he did open his eyes and gesture to the others, indicating he wanted to go first. Cen frowned at him and shook his head.

"How about you start breathing first? _I'll_ go up, then I can help the rest of you."

He started up the rope, swinging precariously in his haste. About halfway up, something above creaked, and Cen paused, listening. A trickle of dirt fell from the wall. Cen waited a moment longer, then continued up. Below, Estel took hold of the end of the rope, ready to follow.

Just as Cen reached the top, the creaking repeated itself, much louder and deeper this time. The wall heaved, showering dirt on Estel, Rath, and Sapphire. Cen jumped up and out of the way with a shout just before something fell with a crash over the cave's entrance. More dirt rained down, and the rope went slack.

Estel's face went completely white. His eyes widened, and his hands clenched around the rope.

"Cen?" he called, and his voice cracked. "Cen, what happened? Cen?!"

A moment passed before Cen replied. "The tree uprooted and tipped over the hole." A pause, then he added, "I kind of didn't expect this."

"Well, fix it!" Estel shouted, going tense with anxiety. "Get us outta here!"

There was a rustle of movement; the tree above shifted slightly but did not move out of the way. Estel stared upward, hands white-knuckled on the rope; Sapphire watched him with concern. Another attempt, and another, and another…

"I can't get it to move," Cen said at last. "We'll—"

"_What_?" Estel began to shake, sounding almost in tears. "No! You gotta fix it!"

"Estel—"

"_No_! I don't wanna be here, let me out, let me out, _let me out_!"

"Estel, stop it!" Cen shouted. "I can't think with you screaming like that!"

These words had no effect; Estel continued to cry out with increasing panic, jerking on the rope as hard as he could. Rath seemed to be blocking this out, his mind elsewhere, but Sapphire watched it, her hand over her mouth.

Cen called down again. "Okay! I have an idea! Rath, can you hear me?"

Rath came out of his reverie and looked up. "I can."

"Good. I want you to burn the tree out of the way. When I've pulled the rope up, start shooting fireballs up here, and when the trunk is weak enough, I'll chop up what's left and get it out of the way. Sound good?"

"Inspired," Rath said dryly.

There was a pause in which the rope seemed to be trying to tug itself out of Estel's hands. This odd movement stopped, and Rath and Sapphire could almost hear Cen's exasperated sigh before he spoke again.

"Get Estel off that rope. I can't get it out of the way if he's attached to it."

Sapphire stared, wondering how to do this, but Rath immediately grabbed Estel's hands and started prying his fingers loose. This only increased Estel's panic, but Rath stood his ground, looking perfectly calm. He glanced at Sapphire.

"I require your assistance."

Sapphire hesitated, then approached and took Estel's hands as well, helping Rath pull them off the rope. She held Estel by the arms to keep him back as the rope slithered up and out of sight.

Estel's panic gave way to terrified silence. He froze in Sapphire's grip, staring up the passage. This calm only lasted for a moment before he broke down; shaking, he sagged and fell to his knees, pulling Sapphire down with him, and began to sob instead of scream, pleading through his tears.

"Don't leave me down here, you have to let me out, _come back_—!"

Sapphire gave a quiet moan of dismay. Beside her, Rath began sending blasts of fire up the tunnel, the cave flaring red around them. At the sound of each explosion, Estel cringed away, but Sapphire continued to hold him steady.

"It's all right," she said, almost in tears herself, trying to sound comforting even though Estel could not possibly have heard her speaking. "We're just trying to get out, I promise. It will all be all right. Oh, Estel, please calm down…"

Ash and cinders began to fall as the tree burned. Rath ceased his attacks, and just after that, there came the sound of metal impacting wood, and flaming, blackened woodchips began to tumble downward as well. Rath held up his hand, and they extinguished and cooled as they fell.

Finally, there was a crunch, a loud snap, and the sound of heavy objects being shoved aside. At the top of the tunnel, the stars became visible again. The end of the rope tumbled down to the trapped companions. Estel's crying quieted as he saw it, and Sapphire sighed in relief.

"Okay," Cen called down. "I'm holding the rope ready. Come on up."

Sapphire let go of Estel, and he leapt at the rope, rushing up it as fast as possible. When he reached the top, he flung himself away from the hole, scrambling away until he felt at a safe distance, then he collapsed on his side, still shaking uncontrollably. His breathing was fast and shallow, his hands clenched around clumps of swamp grass as though to keep himself from being pulled back. Though his tear-streaked face remained ashen, the look of terror in his eyes slowly began to wane.

Cen, starting to pull up one of the mages, glanced over at him. "Estel?"

Estel did not acknowledge him. Cen did not press the matter, focusing instead on hauling the other two companions out of the cave. Rath came up first, then Sapphire, stumbling a bit as she clambered onto dry ground. As soon as she was steady, she started toward Estel, but Cen stopped her.

"Just leave him alone right now."

Sapphire stepped back, looking upset. "I just want to see if he's all right."

"Of course he isn't," Cen said, frowning. "But he will be in a minute, and you can talk to him then. If he even _wants_ to talk to you."

"What?" Sapphire's eyes widened. "But…why—"

"He went down there because of you," Cen interrupted. He neither looked nor sounded angry, but his absolute, blank calmness was unnerving. "And you went down there for no reason at all. I don't think he's going to be very happy with you about that."

Sapphire's face colored. "Of course I had a reason. You—"

"Why did the Guardians attack us?"

Sapphire broke off at Cen's question, staring at him. "What?"

"The Guardians. You said that they wouldn't attack because the king sent us. So…" Cen folded his arms across his chest. "Why did they?"

For a moment, Sapphire could not reply. She opened and closed her mouth a few times as she struggled to find an answer, then she scowled and shook her head.

"I don't know. The elves have been perfecting their magic for centuries, and I've only been learning about it for a few years; there are a lot of things I don't know about it yet. We could have been attacked because of…because of almost anything."

"Right," Cen said dully. "Sure. Well, you be sure to ask about that when we get back to Elfheim."

* * *

The next morning, everyone, even Estel, rose early out of an unspoken desire to leave Marsh Cave behind as swiftly as possible. A tense silence hung over the group as they traveled back through Caraxë Marsh. Estel remained subdued, the whole situation having finally become enough to stop his complaining. Rath, as usual, said little, and Sapphire said nothing at all. Cen, on the other hand, bore the uncomfortable atmosphere without noticeable unease.

After a little less than two weeks, the companions reached the edge of the blackened waste around the western keep, just as the sun was setting. Sapphire continued onward, but the others turned away, starting back the way they had come. Sapphire turned to look at them, partly surprised, partly indignant.

"Where are you going?"

"It's almost night," Cen said; he was the only one who had even attempted to talk to Sapphire lately. "We're going to camp first, then head to the keep in the morning."

Sapphire stared at the ground for a moment, then followed the others.

They set up camp by one of the small streams that meandered through the forest. Sapphire spent the better part of the evening trying to clean some of the stains from her robes but had very limited success. Her gaze kept straying to her pack as she worked. Cen, Estel, and Rath sat around the campfire in what loosely amounted to amiable silence, Rath reading, Cen sharpening his sword, and Estel poking the fire with a stick.

"Can't believe we're doin' this," Estel muttered. "All 'cause of some lyin' p—"

"All right," Cen said, shooting a stern look at him.

Before Cen could say anything else, Sapphire returned from her washing, looking wetter but not noticeably cleaner. She sat down on the opposite side of the fire from the others, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. Estel stopped his muttering and looked over at her, his expression cool.

"You still wanna do this?"

Sapphire started a little, then looked back at him. She looked defensive, though less so than usual; she seemed unable to be as indignant toward Estel since Marsh Cave.

"Yes, I do," she said.

"Fine." Estel dropped his gaze back to the fire. "I don't like it, but I'll play along anyway. Gods know what'd happen to you if you went in there by yourself tomorrow."

"Thank you…" Sapphire frowned. "I…I thought you'd be so angry over Marsh Cave that you would refuse to come along this time."

Estel gave her a look. "Doesn't mean I ain't still gonna back you up."

A rather unpleasant silence fell. After a moment, Sapphire got to her feet, went over to her sleeping bag, and climbed in. Once she had left, Cen glanced at Estel.

"So what do you think is going to happen in there tomorrow?"

Estel shrugged. "Damned if I know."

"The appearance of the land around the keep is enough to give a rough idea," Rath said, surprising the others by looking up and joining the conversation. "Sapphire has managed to dig us a very neat grave indeed. If she has any integrity at all, she will answer for that when this is over."

"I can think of a couple other things she can answer for too," Estel muttered.

Cen gave a heavy sigh and set his sword aside so he could rub his forehead. "We messed up. We messed up big time. How are we going to get out of this?"

"Get killed," Estel said. "Or did you mean besides that?"

"Enough," Rath said, giving Estel a slightly disgusted look. "Adopting that outlook will do nothing to ensure our survival tomorrow. Merely because the grave has been dug does not mean we must step into it without protest."

Cen looked up. "So what _should_ we do? Any ending I can figure has us getting splatted all over the country."

Rath stared into the fire in silence for a while before answering.

"We will need a plan."

* * *

At Sapphire's insistence, the group rose and departed early the next morning. This did nothing to improve Estel's mood and resulted in him dragging his heels about everything. He delayed so much that the companions did not get to the western keep until midday in spite of rising early. Neither Cen nor Rath saw fit to chastize him over this, to Sapphire's indignation, and Estel did not even try to excuse his behavior.

The convoluted interior of the keep looked just as it had when the companions had left. As they approached the corridor leading to the throne room, Rath conjured a puffball flame and sent it zooming off into the labyrinthine keep. After a lengthy pause, the flame exploded, the shock shaking dust from the fallen stone. The companions ducked behind a mound of rubble moments before the dark elven guards exited the corridor, hurrying toward the sound of the explosion. Once the sound of the elves' footsteps had died away, the companions went onward to the throne room.

The chamber also looked just as they had left it, with the king slumped on the throne against the far wall. Sapphire hurried toward him, the crown's box in her hands.

"Your Majesty, we have the crown, we've brought it…"

The king looked up, a momentary glint in his eyes, then his expression became one of enormous relief. "You have? Wonderful. I knew I was…right to put my trust in you." He extended a shaking hand. "Please…give it to me."

Sapphire held out the box, but before the king could take it, Estel ran forward and pulled her back. Jarred from her grip, the box fell to the floor with a clatter. The king withdrew his hand sharply, a look of alarm on his drawn face. Sapphire glared at Estel.

"What are you doing?"

Estel did not answer, instead watching the king. He picked up the fallen box.

"Mind if I ask you a couple questions, _Your Majesty_?"

The king's demeanor changed from one of alarm back to one of weariness. He gave Estel a very long-suffering look. "I only wish…to regain what is mine." He held out his hand again. "Give me the crown."

"Aw, you didn't say please." Estel half-turned, tossed the box to Rath, and faced the king again. "The thing is, I don't think that crown belongs to you."

"Of course…it does," the king said. His eyes flicked to Rath, then back to Estel. "Who else—"

"It belongs," Estel interrupted, "to the king of Elfheim. Not to you."

Something flickered in the king's eyes. "I am…the king of Elfheim…"

Estel snorted. "Yeah, in your head, maybe."

"Estel, stop it!" Sapphire hissed. "You're being stupid!"

"Funny," Estel said coolly, "_I_ don't think I am."

Sapphire made a quiet noise of frustration, then turned back to the king. "Your Majesty, I apologize; he doesn't know what he's talking about."

Cen glanced at Rath, who caught his eye and nodded. Cen drew his sword.

"Okay," Estel said, keeping his eyes focused on the king, whose gaze kept darting between the three young men before him. "Let's cut the bullshit, huh? How about tellin' us who you really are, before we just walk the crown right on outta here."

Sapphire glared at Estel, looking almost ready to punch him. "Stop it! How dare you act like that towards him? He's a _king_, you have no right to—"

"That is enough," the king said, his voice now steady, his breathing normal. The glint in his eyes had become a steady gleam. He turned to Sapphire. "Your friend has every right to speak as he is. After all…" He gave an unsettling, predatory grin. "…his suspicions are perfectly correct."

Sapphire took a step away, eyes widening. "What…?"

The king looked at her with unmistakable amusement. "Are you still fooled, even now? Then allow me to clarify."

He stood, the air around him shimmering and distorting, and his figure seemed to melt away. In his place stood a dark elf, hunched, slender and green-skinned. Elaborate black tattoos covered his chest, arms, and legs, and chain-adorned earrings hung from the multiple piercings in his pointed ears. He wore no armor, and barely enough clothing to cover himself. A long, broad-bladed sword hung at his side. He bowed mockingly to Sapphire, even as she gasped and stumbled backwards.

"Welcome to my keep, my dear. I am Astos, and you have played right into my hands." He smiled, revealing pointed teeth. "I am _most_ grateful for your help."

"No," Sapphire whispered, her horror-stricken gaze riveted on Astos's smirking face. "It…it's not possible…"

Astos laughed. "Possible indeed! I confess, even I was surprised at how well my disguise fooled you. A pity your friends were not swayed as well. Still, you did as I asked, just as any good subjects would have." His red eyes narrowed in amusement. "In one month, you have achieved through abject loyalty what I have been attempting to do through force for decades. The irony is wonderful, don't you agree?"

Stunned, Sapphire could not reply. Astos contrived to look disappointed.

"No? Ah, well, mortals rarely appreciate such things. Now…" He extended a clawed hand toward the companions. "If you will kindly give me the crown, I will have all I need to bring a victorious assault against Elfheim and become the _true_ elf king." His mouth twisted in a smirk. "I may even let you survive to see it happen."

"Thanks, but no," Estel said, his eyes narrowed and his hand going to his sword hilt. "We ain't lettin' you take the crown, green boy. Sorry."

"You have little choice in the matter," Astos said, drawing his own blade. His smile became shark-like. "I can take what is mine by sheer force!"

Without warning, he swung his sword down on Estel. Sapphire screamed as Estel jumped backwards, the sword embedding itself in the floor. Astos swore, then extended his hand toward Estel, the air around him darkening. A crimson mist arose around Estel, and with a gasp of pain, he stiffened and fell to his knees, clutching his chest. Astos began curling his hand into a fist, and Estel crumpled further.

With a crack, a bolt of lightning shot from Rath's palm and struck Astos's outstretched arm. Astos recoiled, and the mist around Estel vanished. He struggled to his feet, Cen going to help him, as Astos pulled his sword free and turned to face Rath.

"Interesting. I thought I sensed another mage present."

"You are wasting your time with them," Rath said, matching Astos's calm tone. "The girl is already cowed, and the other two are mere mercenaries, of no importance."

Estel gave a shout of outrage, which Cen echoed. Rath and Astos ignored them.

"Your point?" Astos asked, sounding thoroughly amused.

"What challenge is there in defeating them? Little. Any elf could do as much. But…" Rath lifted his hand, and flames curled up his arm and flew from his fingertips. "A test of skill against a fellow spellcaster would be rather more stimulating."

"Oh?" Astos raised an eyebrow. "An interesting proposal. And in _no_ way simply a ploy to spare your companions pain and death, I assume?"

"This is for personal entertainment. They…" Rath waved a dismissive hand toward the others. "…are merely a means to an end. I care little for them."

Estel and Cen both shouted in anger again, and Sapphire gasped. Astos laughed, however, looking positively delighted.

"Ah, a mortal after my own heart! Then how can I refuse such an offer?" He sheathed his sword and lifted his hand, flames roaring to life around it. "Restrictions?"

"No Death, no temporal," Rath said. "Agreed?"

Astos appeared to consider this, then he gave another shark-like smile. "Agreed."

Even as the word left his mouth, the air around him burst into life, sparking and crackling with energy. The loose flames around his hand swirled together into a boiling ball of fire which roared toward Rath like a comet. At once, Rath's fire vanished, the air around him growing cold, and a rush of freezing energy flew from his hand, condensing the air before him into a sheet of ice. The ball of fire impacted it, and it shattered, spraying water and chips of ice in all directions. Before the blast even cleared, Rath shot a burst of fire of his own, and Astos flung another to meet it. The two attacks collided, merged, and detonated, the explosion shaking the room.

"Impressive," Astos commented, his calm tone in sharp contrast to the agitated magical aura around him. "You certainly don't look as skilled as you are."

"Appearances can be deceiving," Rath said, just as calmly.

Astos laughed. "Well said!" He lifted both hands, and instead of fire, a crackling rain of lightning shot toward Rath. Another wall of ice met it.

Spells flew back and forth, explosions of fire, ice, and lightning making the floor tremble. The two combatants were terrible to behold, Astos proud and mocking, Rath cold and intense. The other companions watched with wide eyes, Cen and Estel awed, Sapphire terrified. Rath, drooping with exhaustion, shot a bolt of lightning at Astos, who leapt back to avoid it; it gouged a crater in the floor where he had been standing. He retaliated with lightning of his own in a wide spray. Ice appeared, blocking some, but others streaked past, striking Rath and throwing him backwards. He crashed to the floor, spasming, and a burst of fire engulfed him before he could recover. His shout of pain could barely be heard over the roar of the flames. Unbidden, cold energy flowed from him, extinguishing the fire, and he rose haltingly to his feet to face Astos again.

"_Very_ impressive," Astos said, inclining his head to Rath. "A mortal of your age surviving this long against me? Unheard of. I commend your skills, mage." He applauded. "But, alas, I have other tasks to attend to, and I _do_ need the crown you carry to complete them. So…" He lifted his hand, the air around him growing dark. "…I'm afraid I must end our little game." Red mist began to rise around Rath.

Before the spell could begin to take effect, it halted. The crackling energy around Astos vanished as translucent runic seals appeared around his wrists and throat. Rath's eyes widened in surprise, and Astos spun around in a sudden fury and saw the frightened Sapphire huddled against the wall, her hand held toward him as she cast a silencing spell. With a snarl, Astos drew his sword and started toward her.

A flash of yellow-green light enveloped Cen as he drew his longsword. At once, his body seemed to blur, each movement quickened to a near-invisible speed. He darted forward, placing himself between Astos and Sapphire, and attacked. Astos fell back in surprise, but Cen pursued him, sword a silvery blur. Astos managed to block fewer than half of Cen's blows, and soon blood streamed from a dozen different wounds. He tried for one last assault, but suddenly jerked to a halt, eyes widening, Cen's sword jammed through his stomach and protruding from his back.

"No…" Astos said in a hoarse whisper. He made a strangled choking sound as Cen jerked the sword free, and he fell to his knees. "No…"

"Yes," Rath said coolly from across the room. He held his hands out before him, and an orange ball of fire roared to life between them. He let the fire grow, then flung it toward the wounded Astos. The explosion was nearly deafening, and by the time the light and flames had faded, there was nothing left of the dark elf but a pile of ash and charred bones. His sword lay beside it, along with a small, round object.

An uneasy silence fell. Sapphire, trembling, sank to the floor, her face in her hands. Rath released the Haste spell and approached Astos's remains.

"Not _quite_ according to plan," he said, nudging the skull with his foot, "thanks to Sapphire's contribution, but nevertheless effective." Looking half asleep, he glanced over at Cen. "You nearly missed the first cue."

Cen gave Rath a withering look.

Estel walked over to Rath and held a hand out to him. "Gimme the crown."

Rath retrieved the crown from his pack and handed it to Estel without hesitation. Estel turned, walked over to Sapphire, and dropped the box in front of her with a clatter. She started and looked up at him, her face wet with tears.

"Estel, don't," Cen said, frowning. "She feels bad enough."

Estel shook his head and turned away, moving over to what remained of Astos. He picked up the round object; it appeared to be a large, clear marble marked to look like a hazel eye. He tossed it to Rath. "What d'you think of that?"

Rath examined it. "That it is something Matoya will be very glad to have back."

"Thought so." Estel shook his head. "C'mon, let's get outta here."

Sapphire had gotten to her feet and now walked unsteadily toward the door, clinging to the box and taking great care not to look at Astos's remains. Estel walked briskly past her as though she was not even there.


	12. Face the Truth

**Chapter 12: Face the Truth**

After leaving the keep, the companions only went back to where they had camped the previous night before stopping, even though it was scarcely past midday. They did this for Rath's benefit more than anything else, exhausted as he was from the encounter with Astos; even had he not been, however, none of the companions had much motivation for further travel at the moment. Cen and Estel set up the camp, allowing Sapphire and Rath to rest and clean up at the nearby streams. Rath returned long before Sapphire did, and when she did finally come back she looked pale and shaky, as though she had been sick. Cen, crouched by the small campfire, muttered a quiet curse under his breath.

Rath, already in his bedroll, glanced at Cen. "Yes?"

"I think we have a problem."

"Explain."

Cen nodded toward Sapphire, sitting curled up at the edge of the clearing with her back against a tree, her face hidden against her knees. Rath watched her for a moment, his eyes half-closed beneath the brim of his hat, then looked back at Cen.

"If I may momentarily borrow your vernacular: it serves her right."

Cen stared at him, then frowned and shook his head.

"Maybe. But don't be too hard on her. Everyone makes mistakes."

"And should be expected to take responsibility for them," Rath added coolly, then he rolled over and proceeded to ignore the others as he waited for sleep to claim him.

The afternoon passed with excruciating slowness. Rath fell asleep almost immediately and remained that way for the rest of the day, escaping the uncomfortable tension that hung over the others. Sapphire remained seated at the edge of the campsite, her appearance gradually becoming healthier, though she remained despondent. She kept glancing over at Estel where he sat in quiet conversation with Cen in the shade of the trees at the other side of the campsite; Estel, however, would not even look in her direction. Cen tried to speak with her later on when Estel was busy preparing something to eat, but when she persisted in not answering him, he gave up, shaking his head and looking concerned.

Once evening came, Estel insisted on taking the first watch. He settled himself on the ground beside the fire, stick in hand and ready to start poking the fire should the flames start to die or if he should grow bored. Cen went to his bedroll and soon dozed off. Sapphire, however, remained awake. She lay curled up on top of her sleeping bag, staring into the campfire and listening to Cen snoring. Estel pretended to ignore her. A light breeze whispered through the leaves of the surrounding trees

After a long time, Sapphire sat up, looking at Estel across the fire.

"Estel—"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Estel cut in, poking the fire with his stick.

Sapphire blinked, startled by his blunt reply, then looked away, tugging at her sleeves. "I just…I was so sure…" She trailed off.

"Yeah, but you were wrong," Estel said, finally looking at her. "And that almost got me killed a couple times. Maybe next time you'll listen when I talk, huh?"

Sapphire's lip trembled, and tears began to spill down her cheeks. Estel sighed and shook his head.

"Don't do that."

"I should have—"

"Yeah, you should've. Too late now, though." He nodded at her. "You oughta get some sleep. We got a long walk comin' up."

* * *

It took two weeks to return to Elfheim. Estel and Rath continued to disregard Sapphire almost entirely, Estel keeping any comments to her brief and sharp while Rath would not speak to her at all. Sapphire herself stayed disturbingly quiet the whole time, and she constantly looked as though she was on the verge of tears. Even with Cen, who was the only one to make any kind of effort to interact with her, she answered in little more than a whisper and would not make eye contact. Cen found this worrisome and would occasionally try to talk Rath and Estel into at least being polite to Sapphire. They would not be swayed, however: they would change their behavior as soon as Sapphire apologized to them, but not before then.

"Doesn't her feeling awful count for _something_?" Cen asked with some heat. "It's bad enough to have all that mess hanging over her in the first place, and the way you two are acting about it isn't helping. Does it really matter so much that she tells you to your face?"

"Yes," Estel said, as though this should be obvious.

Rath nodded. "She must accept responsibility for her actions."

Cen rolled his eyes.

The heavily-forested road toward the capital forked in a number of places, with smaller paths leading off to other towns and to the docks on the Aldean to the north. As the three men walked on ahead, Sapphire turned down one of these side routes. Cen noticed this first and stopped the others before calling Sapphire back.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Sapphire stopped and turned around, gaze directed at the ground instead of at her companions. "I…I'm going back to the ship."

Cen blinked. "The ship? Why?"

"I just…I thought that we should…should bring Matoya her eye. If we did that then…then maybe she could help…I mean, give us a cure for Prince Avarion, and we could…" Sapphire trailed off, faltering, then rallied somewhat and continued. "We could bring the cure back, and then…and then it would all be all right, and…we won't even have to let them know we—"

Estel's expression darkened. "What d'you mean, we won't hafta let them know?"

Sapphire quailed a bit, and it took a moment for her to reply.

"I just…it was so stupid, and I know I couldn't tell them, and…and so if we came back with the crown and the cure, we could…I mean…" She started twisting her sleeves. "We could just say we…we found Astos dead, and that then we went and got the…the other things, and they'd just be so pleased to have the cure that it wouldn't really matter. And they…they wouldn't have to know that…Astos tricked us…"

A nasty silence followed this. Cen stared at Sapphire in stunned bafflement. Rath regarded her with something almost like disgust, while Estel's expression grew angry.

"So you're gonna lie about it!"

Cen gave him a warning look. "Estel…"

Estel ignored him, remaining intent on Sapphire.

"You're gonna go and pull the same thing that asshole pulled! Is that it?"

"I…" Sapphire stammered, her eyes widening as she looked at him. "No, I…"

"Yes, it is!" Estel snapped, making Sapphire jump. "It's the same thing!"

Rath's gaze became icy. "Astounding. It seems I truly underestimated your immaturity, Sapphire."

Sapphire took a step backward, and tears filled her eyes.

"No, it…it's not the same, I… If they knew what I did—"

"That's not an excuse!" Estel exploded. "I went through _hell_ because of this! We all could've been killed! But you're just gonna sweep all that outta the way just to make yourself look better! How the hell can you think that's okay?!"

Sapphire, hand over her mouth and tears falling, just shook her head.

"Oh, it is simple, Estel," Rath said, his voice acidic. "She is a pampered little girl who has always been able to delegate the resposibility for anything she did wrong. Now bereft of that option and without the mental and emotional capability to shoulder her own burden, she will simply pretend it did not happen in order to spare her own fragile psyche. In simpler terms…" He cast Sapphire a venomous look. "She is a spoiled brat who cannot admit she has made a mistake."

"That's enough," Cen said sternly. He placed himself between Sapphire and the others on the dirt path, his arms folded across his chest. "We get it. You're angry. Quit taking it out on her before you say something you'll regret later."

Estel rounded on him. "Why should I stop? It's her own damn fault! If anyone's gonna regret anything, it oughta be her!"

"So, what, you're trying to make out like you've never made a mistake before?"

"No, but I never tried to weasel out of them or pretend they never happened!"

"This goes beyond simple immaturity and childishness," Rath said, cold expression still in his eyes as he regarded Cen. "Sapphire's actions could easily have ruined this country, destroyed any chance we had at fulfilling our duties. The elves have a right to know what nearly happened to their nation, and that alone is reason enough to disapprove of Sapphire's actions. However…" Rath's eyes narrowed. "…for her to refuse to acknowledge she was in error does little to urge us to instill our trust in her. If she will not be truthful concerning something of this magnitude, how can we be expected to believe her with regards to anything else?"

"She's a liar," Estel said coldly. "Just like that king, or—"

"I really don't think you want to finish that, Estel," Cen interrupted.

Estel opened his mouth to retort, but he broke off at the sound of wood impacting dirt and of rapidly retreating footsteps. The three combatants looked around and saw Sapphire's staff lying abandoned on the ground, its owner nowhere in sight. Cen made a frustrated noise and rounded on the other two.

"Now look what you've done! I ought to…" He lapsed into an angry pause, trying to articulate what exactly he felt he should do. "I ought to knock your heads together, see if I can beat some sense into you!" He mimed doing this as he said it, with enough implied force to possibly crack any heads involved.

Rath's demeanor swung from icy to fiery in seconds. "You expect _us_ to feel remorse when she refuses—!"

"She's not refusing anything, she just feels bad about what happened! That's why she ran off crying, you idiot!"

Rath raised an eyebrow but did not retort; the burning, dangerous look in his eyes spoke for him. Cen turned to Estel.

"_You_ should be ashamed of yourself. I expected _him_—" He jerked his thumb at Rath. "—to flip out sooner or later, but I figured you'd know better. How do you—"

"I don't give a damn anymore," Estel interrupted, folding his arms and glaring. "This tears things. It's not worth it."

Cen looked stunned for a moment, then he shook his head in disgust.

"Fine. You both go ahead and keep being jackasses for all I care. I'm going to go find Sapphire, and we're all going to go back to the ship—"

Estel and Rath both tried to interrupt at this, but Cen just spoke louder and pressed on, his deeper voice easily overpowering theirs.

"—we'll go back to the ship and take that eye to Matoya, and if I hear either of you say another word about this to Sapphire, then you're going to end up in pieces. And yes, I mean _both_ of you," he added as Estel opened his mouth to protest his inclusion. With that, Cen turned and started down the side path after Sapphire.

He did not have to search for long; Sapphire had only gone as far as the first sharp bend in the path before collapsing onto the verge, like a distressed child who had flung herself onto her bed to weep. She lay with her face buried in her arms, her sobs muffled by the dirty fabric of her sleeves. Cen hovered uncomfortably a short distance away, looking as though he half-wanted to turn and leave to spare himself the awkwardness. After a moment, however, he took a deep breath, walked over, and knelt down beside her.

"Sapphire?"

Sapphire recoiled at the sound of his voice and jerked her head up to look at him, her face red and tearstained. When she saw who it was, she relaxed a little, her breath hitching, and her head fell back onto her arms.

"Cen, I—" She broke off with a weak little sob and hid her face again.

Cen glanced off down the path in discomfort, then looked back at her.

"They shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

Sapphire made an odd hiccuping, snuffling sound that might have been a reply. Cen gave a quiet sigh and slouched a bit.

"Please stop crying."

"I, I _can't_…I—"

"Sure you can. Come on, sit up…"

He took her by the shoulders and drew her up to a sitting position. She remained like that for a moment, sniffling and wiping her streaming eyes, but then she flung herself forward, throwing her arms around Cen and weeping against his chest. Cen grunted at the impact, almost tipping backward but managing to keep his balance. He looked down at Sapphire.

"Uh…you know, mail really isn't the most comfortable thing to squish your face against…"

Sapphire did not appear to hear him. Cen sighed again, then, looking distinctly ill-at-ease, put his arms around her, patting her back in an attempt at reassurance.

"Okay," he said after a minute. "You need to calm down now."

He patted her one more time, then released her and tried to get her to straighten up again. It took little effort to do so, and he left his hands on her shoulders to keep her upright as she tried to catch her breath and stop her tears. He started to speak again, but Sapphire beat him to it.

"They're right."

Cen frowned in confusion. Sapphire went on:

"Estel and…and Rath. They're right, I…" She covered her mouth with her hand as more tears welled up in her eyes. "I…I was so _stupid_, and if you, if you and Rath hadn't killed him, then, then, then he would have killed all of _us_, and everyone in Elfheim, and, and then…" She tried to suppress a sob, with poor results. "Oh, Cen, I almost ruined everything!"

"You didn't, though," Cen said. "Everything worked out, right?"

"But—"

"You _didn't_," Cen repeated. "Listen, it was just a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. This was kind of a big one, but nothing really bad happened from it, right? And, hey," he added, striking upon a sudden idea, "it's actually a _good_ thing we had to go up against Astos like that. How else would we have got Matoya's eye back?"

Sapphire sniffed and nodded, rubbing at her tear-swollen eyes.

"That's…yes, I know, but…but if I had just listened to all of you in the first place, we…" She hesitated, casting a fearful look at Cen. "We wouldn't have wasted so much time…going down to Marsh Cave and—"

"Yeah, I thought about that," Cen interrupted, speaking before she could push herself to tears again. "But it's all already happened, so I guess I can't really get angry about it. So, see?" He smiled a little, trying to provoke a similar reaction in Sapphire. "Rath can grump about immaturity and whatever else all he wants, and Estel can rant and complain until he's blue in the face, but they'll get over it. The way I see it, they're just being stubborn and making things worse anyway, so all they're going to get for their trouble is a very angry me. And that's not a good thing."

Sapphire shook her head. "No, it's…" She trailed off, tears finally halted, though her breathing remained uneven. Fiddling half-heartedly with her now rather damp sleeves, she stared down at the packed dirt between her and Cen, then looked up at him. "I can't…you know why I can't tell the chancellor or anyone what…what really happened with Astos, don't you? I mean, you understand—"

"What, you mean about them being all these big, great, really smart people and you not wanting to mess up and make an idiot out of yourself in front of them?" Cen gave a slightly bitter smile. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

There was a brief pause.

"Okay," Cen said. "Here's what we're going to do. Ready?" He waited for Sapphire to nod, then continued. "We're going to go back and get Estel and Rath, who won't say one single word about this unless they want to end up as a bunch of very tiny pieces. Then we're all going to go up to the port, and get on our ship, and go give Matoya her eye back, just like you said. And then everything will be just fine. Does that sound okay?"

Sapphire nodded.

"Good." Cen gave Sapphire an encouraging smile, which she attempted to return. "Okay then. Let's get going."

He got to his feet and offered his hand to Sapphire. She took it, and he helped her up, then the pair of them set off back down the path together.

They returned to the fork in the path to find Estel and Rath conversing in low voices. Sapphire's eyes filled again as soon as she saw at them, and she quickly looked away. Cen patted her on the shoulder.

"It's okay," he whispered to her. "Go grab your staff; I'll talk to them."

Sapphire moved to do as she was told, while Cen walked over toward Estel and Rath. They fell silent and watched him as he approached.

"Okay," he said. "We're leaving."

"Pardon our lack of enthusiasm," Rath replied dully.

Cen glowered. "Don't start with me," he snapped, jabbing a finger toward Rath. "I've got enough reasons to want to rip your guts out without you keeping this up." He looked from Rath to Estel and back. "I'll make this quick. I think you're both jackasses for ganging up on her like that, even if I _do_ get why you're so angry. I should probably be angry too, but I'm not. Because, you see that girl over there?" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Sapphire, crouching to retrieve her staff. "She's on our team. And she's trying real hard not to screw up, and when she does and you go off on her like that, it doesn't do anything to help her."

"I get it, Cen," Estel said, giving Cen a slightly knowing look.

"Yeah, I figured you would." Cen looked from Estel to Rath and back. "To make it short, either be nice or shut up. Not too hard, right?"

Not waiting for a reply, he turned and walked back over to Sapphire.

"Okay. Let's get out of here."

* * *

Watchman's Promontory, the thin peninsula on which Matoya made her home, was the northernmost point of mainland Cornelia. It lay high on the cliffs above the surrounding ocean, and so could only be approached from the south, on foot. This would, however, be no trouble; the region was close to the Bay of Cornelia and thus quite populated, with the land cultivated and easy to travel.

The journey there, however, did not prove to be a pleasant one. Sapphire spent most of the voyage sequestered in her 'cabin'—a few crates arranged to form a semblance of a room down in the hold—not even wanting to be within sight of the others. Estel, in between bouts of grumbling, would sometimes glance at the hatch that led below deck, a flicker of unease crossing his face. If either Cen or Rath saw him doing this, however, he would hurriedly shake his head and glare out over the water. Cen, at the tiller more often than not, frowned whenever this happened, but Rath would just roll his eyes and turn back to whichever spellbook he was reading at the moment.

The _Charybdis_ crossed the Aldean quickly and smoothly, paying little heed to the contrary winds that sought to delay it. Within three days, the ship had rounded the Cornelian Peninsula, passed beneath the restored bridge to the mainland, and docked at Port Haven on the northern side of the Bay of Cornelia. From there, it took only three days of travel on foot to reach Matoya's home at the tip of Watchman's Promontory.

The place reminded the companions a bit of Duergamel. The cliffs tapered up into a low rise of mountains, at the base of which had been carved the façade of a small house, complete with front porch. A wooden door, hanging partway open, covered the opening leading to the dwelling beyond. A short stone wall curved out from the mountainside and surrounded all this, as well as encircling an herb garden that was nearly overrun with weeds. A pebbled path led from a gap in the wall up to the porch.

The group paused for a moment as Sapphire looked blankly at the home before her, partly to wait for her to continue, partly to wait for Estel, who had lagged behind. Once he had rejoined them, looking distracted, Cen turned to Sapphire.

"Are we ready?"

Sapphire nodded and walked forward onto the pebbly path, the others following behind her in single-file. She hesitated at the door, perhaps wondering whether or not to knock, then pushed it open the rest of the way and entered. Estel came in last and made sure to leave the door open behind him.

The hall onto which the door opened was dry and clean, the smooth stone floor nearly spotless. Torches sat in brackets at regular intervals along the wall, the flames crackling but not giving forth any smoke. From somewhere around a bend in the hall came the sound of someone sweeping the floor.

"Well, at least we know someone's home," Cen said, starting forward.

The sweeping sound paused after he spoke, then began to draw nearer. A moment later, a broom, swishing from side to side under its own power, came around the corner and approached the companions. It stopped and seemed to look at the group; that it had a large, eye-like knot at the tip of its handle aided this impression. The companions stared back at it with varying degrees of astonishment. This only increased when the broom spoke in an appropriately reedy voice.

"M'i yrros, tub Ydal Ayotam t'nsi gniviecer srotisiv. Uoy lliw evah ot evael."

Cen and Estel both looked completely dumbfounded.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Rath shot them a silencing look, while Sapphire frowned at the broom, trying to work out what it had said.

"I… It's very important that we see Matoya at once. We're the Light Warriors, and…and we have her eye."

"Uoy od?" The broom sounded both surprised and pleased. "Didnelps! Ll'i tel reh wonk ta ecno. Esaelp wollof em." It swished off down the corridor, and the companions, after exchanging rather puzzled looks, followed it.

The broom led them to an inner room. The large chamber looked very homey, especially given its odd location, with bookshelves and cabinets lining the walls and deep crimson rag rugs dotted over the floor. More brooms swished around as well, followed by skittering little dustpans. From the ceiling hung bunches of dried herbs and vegetables, along with exotic-looking feathers, tiny rolls of parchment, and myriad other peculiar items. In the center of the room stood a large table covered with a fringed, slightly moth-eaten tablecloth. Only one chair stood by the table, and in this sat Matoya, wearing a dark red dress and tan shawl, with a hat similar to Rath's perched on her greying, flyaway hair. A black eyepatch covered one eye, and her other eye was closed, though there was clearly nothing beneath the lid. She held a worn pack of cards in her brown hands, flipping through them absently.

The broom swished toward her.

"Ym Ydal, eht Thgil Sroirraw era ereh ot ees uoy. Yeht yas yeht evah ruoy eye."

"Do they?" Matoya lifted her head. "Come in, come in, then!" She stood and shuffled around the table toward the companions. "The Light Warriors, hm? It seems I have some important company today."

Rath retrieved the small crystal orb from a pocket of his robes and held it out toward Matoya as she approached. "This belongs to you, I believe."

Matoya snatched it from Rath's outstretched hand and ran her fingers over the smooth surface. "Ah, that's mine all right!" She turned away from the companions for a moment; there was a wet popping sound, and when she turned back the eye was sitting comfortably in its socket, glinting in a rather unsettling way. "Much better! Now, let me get a real look at you…" She scrutinized the companions, particularly Cen and Estel, then frowned, looking slightly disappointed. "Hmph. You're not as good-looking as I thought you'd be."

Estel seemed alarmed by this statement, but Cen looked offended.

"Hey, what do you mean I—"

Rath stepped on his foot to shut him up.

Sapphire ignored all this, hurriedly putting on her more formal manner. "Matoya, we come with a plea for help from the royal family of Elfheim. Prince Avarion has been cursed, and we believe that you're the only one who has the ability to help him."

"Ah, yes," Matoya said, giving them one last appraising look before she turned away and walked back to the table. "Astos up to no good again, as usual." She shuffled through her deck of cards and laid one down on the table: the title read, "The King." "Not a problem anymore, though, eh?" She laughed quietly and flipped the card to reveal a different image: The Hanged Man. She shuffled the cards back into the deck and set them down on the table. "A stolen crown does not royalty make, just as a stolen eye does not a seer make. Astos and his hired thief both know that well now, with their plans having come to naught."

Estel blinked. "Hired thief?"

Matoya turned to look at him, and her crystal eye glinted. "Oh, yes. It is someone you know who visited me and took my eye for the elven wretch. His reward didn't help him in the end, though it has aided _you_ greatly."

"Wha—" Estel gaped for a moment, then a flash of anger appeared in his eyes. "Bikke! So that's where he got all that gold, and the ship! That fat son of a—"

Cen shushed him, but Matoya gave another quiet laugh. Sapphire, looking a bit helpless, addressed Matoya again.

"Please…can you do anything for His Highness? It's—"

Matoya waved aside the rest of her sentence. "Yes, yes, I can help young Avarion. I have all the things I need to make the elixir." She waved vaguely at the cabinets lining the walls and the bundles hanging from the ceiling.

Sapphire sighed in relief, looking at least somewhat pleased for the first time since they had left Marsh Cave. "Thank you. When you wouldn't respond to our messengers, we thought…"

"I'm not so fickle as that, Priestess," Matoya said. "No eye means no sight, and no sight means the wrong ingredients go in the potion. Rather a slow cure than a quick poison, eh?" She turned to one of the cabinets. "Now, a cure for young Avarion."

She set to work gathering items from the cabinets, including a bowl that looked disturbingly like the top of a skull. For a while, only the swishing of the brooms and the clinking of potion bottles broke the silence of the room. Occasionally, Matoya would turn and pluck some herbs from one of the hanging bundles, or she would begin muttering over her work, shutting her eye and waving her hand over the bowl. Cen and Estel looked slightly uneasy and kept glancing at each other. Sapphire watched Matoya anxiously, chewing on her lower lip and twisting the edges of her sleeves, while Rath seemed only mildly interested in the proceedings, instead watching the brooms or examining some of the more exotic items strung from the ceiling.

At last, Matoya turned back to the companions, holding a small, teardrop-shaped brown bottle in her hand.

"Jolt Tonic," she said, holding it up for them to see. "Able to break down any of Astos's curses. Have young Avarion drink this, and he'll be right in no time."

"Thank you, Matoya," Sapphire said, looking relieved as she took the bottle.

"Hm." Matoya stared around at them again. "Many trials lie before you, Warriors. Whether you will prove equal to them or not, I cannot say. Though…" Her crystal eye glinted. "I do see some things. Reunions, farewells, victories…and losses. You will experience all of them soon, sooner than you may think. Your first great test approaches swiftly…"

She trailed off delicately, her gaze sweeping them. Sapphire's face paled, her eyes widening, while Cen looked worried and Estel shivered as though he had got a sudden chill. Rath, however, looked distinctly unimpressed.

"What…what sort of test?" Sapphire asked, speaking barely above a whisper.

Matoya did not answer, instead giving the companions a slightly unsettling smile. "Best be on your way. You have a great deal to be getting on with." She nodded toward the door.

Cen and Estel took the hint at once, looking all too ready to leave this eerie woman behind. They started toward the exit, Cen taking Sapphire by the arm and drawing her along with them. Rath turned and began to follow, but Matoya stepped after him, seizing his upper arm in a tight grip and pulling him to a halt.

"A question for you, young mage."

Rath shot a cool look at her out of the corner of his eye, his shoulders stiffening.

"I need answer none of your questions. You can See once more; find the answer yourself."

"Oh, I have seen answers, Rath of Onrac, just like I have seen so many other things. But you have _not_ seen, and so I ask you this." Matoya's eye narrowed somewhat. "How can you believe that you will be fit to stand as a Warrior of Light when you keep your soul shrouded in so much darkness?"

A heavy, unpleasant silence fell. Rath's gaze hardened.

"Take your hand off me," he said, his voice quiet and dangerous.

"As you wish." Matoya gave Rath a knowing look, then released his arm and went back to her seat at the table. Rath swept out of the room, his robes fluttering around him and his staff clunking against the floor.

* * *

Rath did not speak to any of the others on the trip back to Port Haven, giving them only blank, stony looks when he chose to acknowledge them at all. Remembering Rath's actions when he had last behaved like this, the other companions did not speak to him either. This new source of tension, added onto Sapphire's continued somber and guilt-ridden mood, made the silence in the group nearly unbearable. Cen and Estel attempted to maintain some degree of normalcy, even if just between themselves, but the moody silences of the two mages cast an oppressive pall over their efforts.

Reaching and boarding the _Charybdis_ provided some relief of this, as Sapphire disappeared into her room in the hold, and Rath became absorbed in one of his spellbooks and generally made himself unobtrusive. Cen got the vessel underway, while Estel sat astride one of the benches nearest to the tiller and stared at the hatch in the deck. After a moment, he looked over at Rath.

"Hey, Rath?"

He may as well have addressed a stone for all the reaction he received; Rath remained wholly occupied with his reading as he sat leaning back against the gunwale. Estel frowned and looked back at the hatch.

"Fine, not like I wanted to ask you anything anyway," he muttered.

Cen glanced over at Rath, giving him a look of dislike, then turned to Estel. He watched him for a minute before speaking.

"You _could_ go talk to her."

"Huh?" Estel looked up with a start. "What're you talkin' about?"

Cen rolled his eyes. "I'm talking about Sapphire. You feel bad about yelling at her before, don't you?"

Estel spluttered. "What? No! No, I don't! She deserved it! I don't…" He trailed off and looked away, frowning. "She just…she shouldn't be lyin' like that."

"Yeah, well, according to her, you shouldn't be stealing, but she hasn't ever gone off on you like you did to her," Cen pointed out.

Estel scowled and did not reply. He lay back on the bench and stared up at the cloud-dotted sky, his brow furrowed; after a moment, he wrapped his arms around his stomach, and his feet began to tap restlessly against the deck.

Cen, busy negotiating the _Charybdis_ out of the harbor, did not notice this at once. When he did, however, he rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Come _on_, Estel. If you feel that bad about it—"

"I don't feel bad about it," Estel said flatly, still staring upward.

Cen gave him a skeptical look. "_Now_ who's lying?"

"I'm not lyin'." Estel's voice had a sudden edge to it.

Cen shrugged and let the matter drop, instead applying his attention to steering the ship. After a moment, however, Estel broke the silence.

"And it's not like she'd listen to me even if I did say anything, anyway."

Cen smirked. "Knew it."

Estel shot Cen a dirty look before turning his gaze skyward again.

"If you say 'I told you so', I might have to hit you."

"Can I say 'why don't you go down there and tell her you're sorry?' instead?"

After a pause, Estel shook his head. "No. I'll…" He trailed off and shut his eyes, his feet continuing to tap. He shook his head again. "I can't deal with that."

Cen leaned against the tiller and shrugged. "Just thought I'd ask." He paused for a moment, then added, "But I _did_ tell you that you'd regret all that, you know. You shouldn't have yelled at her like you did."

"Yeah, I know," Estel said, frowning at him.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Estel did not answer. Cen sighed, shook his head, and turned his attention back to the tiller.


	13. The Miracle and the Sleeper

**Chapter 13: The Miracle and the Sleeper**

"With all respect, Warriors, are you certain you wish to speak with Chancellor Eredon? You have only just returned; surely you would rather rest—"

Cen shook his head. "No, we're fine. And it's really important that we talk to the chancellor _now_. We have something that will help your prince."

The elven guard's eyes widened. "You've found a cure for His Highness?"

"Yeah."

The guard looked torn between astonishment and relief. He stepped back, bowed to the companions while saying something to them in Elven, then he turned and hurried off to fetch Chancellor Eredon.

Cen gave a long sigh, then turned to look at Sapphire standing quietly behind him. She looked travel-worn and a bit wan, her eyes downcast. She started slightly when Cen put his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you…?"

Sapphire nodded. "I'll be fine," she whispered.

Cen looked slightly dubious but still nodded in reply and gave her shoulder an encouraging pat. A short distance away by one of the tree-like pillars, Rath and Estel watched with disinterest and unease, respectively.

Only a few moments later, Chancellor Eredon rushed into the hall and stopped before Cen and Sapphire. He had the wide-eyed look of a person who has received a great windfall and scarcely dares to believe it has actually happened.

"Is it true?" he asked, looking from Sapphire to Cen and back. "Have you found a cure for His Highness?"

Sapphire hesitated, glancing up at Cen once more. He nodded encouragingly, and she drew a deep breath and turned to Eredon.

"Yes, we have. Here…" She held out the small bottle of Jolt Tonic. "We…"

She trailed off, as Eredon had ceased listening to her. He took the bottle, staring at it as though it was some rare and precious gem, then a smile of utter relief appeared upon his fair face.

"Splendid." He gave a short laugh. "Very splendid indeed! Come, we must try this at once!"

He turned and started out of the hall, and the companions, not quite sure what else to do, followed him. They made their way through the corridors of the castle, finally reaching the royal apartments. In the largest bedchamber, elegantly decorated in royal greens and golds, a few healers milled around a large, canopied bed in the center of the room, in which lay Prince Avarion. He looked only very deeply asleep, his handsome features tranquil and relaxed, his chest rising and falling slowly as he breathed, and his fair hair fanned out around his head like a nimbus. Only the knowledge that this had been his state for over a year made the situation feel so tense.

As Eredon and the Light Warriors entered the prince's chamber, the healers looked up from their tasks.

"Chancellor," one of them said in surprise. "What brings you here?"

Eredon held up the brown bottle. "This. Priestess Sapphire and her companions may have finally found what we need to revive His Highness."

Many astonished and excited exclamations met this announcement. Sapphire seemed to be trying to sink into the floor so no one would look at her; Cen obligingly moved to partially block her from view. Eredon raised a hand, and the babble quieted. He approached the slumbering figure on the bed and handed the bottle to the nearest healer, who unstoppered it, then, very carefully, pulled open Avarion's mouth and poured the Jolt Tonic down his throat.

An anxious silence fell, and for a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, Avarion drew a long, deep breath and shifted. The attendant healers clung to one another in anticipation, and Eredon, eyes wide, touched the prince's shoulder.

"Your Highness? Your Highness!"

Avarion groaned, shook his head, and opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, looking rather confused, then his sleep-blurred grey eyes fixed on Eredon standing beside the bed.

"Eredon?" The word came out as a raspy croak. Avarion coughed a few times to clear his throat, then tried again. "Eredon, what in Odin's name is going on here? …I'm not still dreaming, am I?"

Eredon shook his head, looking nearly overwhelmed. "No, Your Highness. You are awake at last; Astos's curse has been broken."

"Oh…" Avarion gave a quiet groan and lifted his hand to rub some of the sleep from his eyes. "So he _wasn't_ just part of my nightmare. I had half-hoped he was." He shut his eyes in thought for a moment, then looked back at Eredon. "How long…?"

"A year and a half, Your Highness."

"Only that? It feels like centuries…"

Avarion sat up, and a pair of healers hurried forward to assist him, propping him up on the soft pillows. He looked around the chamber and spotted the companions standing, with varying degrees of discomfort on their faces, near the doorway. Eredon saw his questioning expression and explained:

"These are the four young warriors who helped us find the means of your recovery, Your Highness. They have worked tirelessly to aid us ever since they arrived."

Avarion smiled at the companions. "If that is the case, then I owe you my gratitude."

"It wasn't any trouble at all, Your…er…" Cen glanced behind him at Sapphire, frowning. "Is it still Highness, or is it Majesty now?"

"What?" Avarion's eyes widened, and he sat up straighter in his bed, suddenly looking fully awake. "Why would it have changed? Did something happen to Father?"

Eredon looked uncomfortable. "Astos challenged His Majesty to a duel at the western keep. He has not returned."

Avarion slumped back against his pillows, staring.

"I…I see."

"Your Highness, I apologize; I—"

Avarion shook his head and held up a forestalling hand. "That's quite all right, Eredon. It's not as though it was your doing." He drew back his hand and covered his eyes for a moment. His slender fingers trembled slightly. "Is there any chance that Father might be alive?"

Eredon glanced over at the companions, and Cen shook his head. Eredon shut his eyes for a moment as he took in this confirmation, then he turned back to the prince.

"No, Your Highness. I'm sorry."

Avarion sighed and slumped back further into his pillows.

"This is…" He trailed off, breathing deeply to help keep himself composed. "This is not the awakening I had hoped for." He looked up at Eredon. "At least tell me that Astos has paid for what he's done."

Again, Eredon looked at the companions. "These warriors would know that better than I, Your Highness. They investigated the matter while out searching for a cure for your condition."

Avarion turned his gaze to the companions as well. "What do you know of all this? What has happened to Astos?"

Cen glanced over his shoulder at Sapphire, who looked suddenly mortified, then looked back at Avarion. "It's kind of a long story, Your Highness. Maybe it ought to wait until you're feeling better."

"I'm not ill," Avarion pointed out. "In fact, I'm extremely well-rested, and listening to people talk isn't something that requires much effort anyway. Now, tell me what's become of my father's murderer."

Cen sighed and opened his mouth to speak again, but a meek, trembling voice interrupted him.

"He…he's dead, Your Highness."

Sapphire stepped out from behind Cen, keeping her gaze lowered. Cen stared at her in some surprise, while Estel watched her uneasily out of the corner of his eye, and Rath ignored her. Sapphire continued:

"We…journeyed out to the western keep, and…and…" She trailed off, her hands beginning to shake. "We found His Majesty."

Not even Rath could feign indifference to this; all the companions stared at Sapphire with open astonishment and, in Estel's case, guilt. Sapphire either did not notice this or ignored it on purpose, because she did not acknowledge it as she went on.

"He said he was being held prisoner and that…that he needed us to fetch his crown for him so he could destroy the dark elves and return to Elfheim. My…" She paused, drawing a few deep breaths before continuing. "My companions didn't trust the situation, but…" Another deep breath. "…but I insisted that we go. We went to the Marsh Cave and took the crown, and…and brought it back to the keep. And—" She broke off abruptly, her lower lip starting to tremble and her eyes filling as she shot a quick look at Avarion, who was listening intently. She tried to speak again, but she could not force the words through her constricted throat.

Cen rested a bolstering hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. Take your time."

Sapphire nodded, breathing hard. After a moment, she managed to resume her explanation, though in a tear-choked voice.

"I would have given him the crown, but my companions stopped me. They had seen things better than me, and…and they knew it wasn't the king. It was Astos, in disguise, and he…" She quickly wiped her eyes. "He'd tricked me. I brought the crown to him, and he…he would have it now, if my…friends hadn't known what was happening. When Astos confronted us, they fought him and killed him. If they…hadn't prepared to fight him, then…then Astos would have the crown now. I…" She put her hand over her mouth. "I am _so_ sorry, Your Highness. For everything that's happened, and for what I…I almost…" She stopped, unable to continue without breaking down.

Avarion remained silent for a moment, then looked around at the other companions. "Is this all true?"

"Yeah, it is," Cen said. Estel, stunned into silence, only nodded, keeping his gaze on Sapphire. Rath gave no response.

Another moment of silence passed, then Avarion straightened up in his bed and began to push his covers back so he could get up. The healers swarmed him at once.

"Please, you mustn't rise yet, Your Highness…"

"…only just awoken, you're still weak…"

"You must be careful…"

"Caution be hanged," Avarion said, a bit of an edge to his voice. "I can stand on my own feet if I wish, and I don't see any problem with doing so now." He gestured to Eredon. "Please remove these people. They've had enough time to fuss over me, and now that I have a say in the matter, I would like them to stop. Surely there are other duties they can attend to elsewhere."

Eredon looked a bit surprised but nevertheless did as he was told; he escorted the healers from the room, then returned to the prince's bedside. Avarion nodded approvingly, then pushed the blankets back the rest of the way and got to his feet. This took more effort than he made out that it would, and he shook a bit at first, but he quickly steadied himself and straightened his plain white sleeping shirt. He approached Sapphire and touched her shoulder lightly, and she looked up at him with a bit of a start.

"Priestess," he said. "I believe you are overreacting slightly. Yes, Astos deceived you, but he has deceived many others who were older and wiser than you, and there is no lasting damage from what you've done. In fact…" He smiled. "…this is the best news to reach Elfheim in decades. For nearly all my life, Astos has been in conflict with us, and now, finally, he is destroyed, thanks to you and your companions."

He looked around at the others, nodding in acknowledgement of them, then turned back to Sapphire.

"I know this might have ended poorly, but it did not, and there's no purpose in dwelling on things that might have happened. My father would be ashamed of me if I did, and…" He smiled a little. "…as I imagine he is busy gloating quite heartily over Astos right now, I would rather not ruin the moment for him."

Very little of this seemed to be making it through to Sapphire. She stared at Avarion, looking astonished through her tears.

"You…you're not upset?"

Avarion shook his head. "The only part of this I find upsetting is my father's fate, and it appears you had nothing to do with that beyond seeing that his killer met a proper end. That he has is a great comfort to me, and I thank you for it."

"But—"

Avarion held up a forestalling hand. "That's enough, Priestess. Really, I had forgotten how accursedly stubborn you can be about some things. Since you seem most insistent that I chastise you somehow for this, I'll do so." He gave her a stern look. "It was very foolish of you to act as you did in this situation, especially when your companions knew that something was amiss and attempted to warn you about it. However…" His expression softened, and he gave a small smile. "…you have also brought peace to our country, and it is thanks to you that I'm awake to see it. For that, you have not only my thanks, but the gratitude of all my people."

Sapphire's face went very white, and her knees buckled, but Cen caught her by the arm and held her upright. As she could not properly curtsy in this state, she just bowed her head to Avarion. Her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before she managed to speak.

"Thank you, Your Highness. I just…I don't deserve…"

Avarion shook his head. "I beg to differ. In fact, I think that simple words fall far short of what you actually deserve. If there is anything you or your companions need, don't hesitate to ask; the least we can do is assist you in any way we can."

Cen perked up a bit.

"Now that you mention it, Your Highness, we do need some help with something. See, we need to get through the Duergar Canal, but it's collapsed, and they can't get it open without nitro powder."

Avarion nodded. "Ah, yes. We _would_ be able to help with that." He turned to Eredon. "Prepare for an ambassador to be sent to Cornelia at once to requisition a shipment of nitro powder, to be delivered with all haste. After you've seen to that," he added after a moment's thought, "speak with the High Priest and Priestess; it seems we have a coronation ceremony to organize."

"Yes, Your Highness." Eredon bowed, then turned and left the room.

Cen frowned. "No funeral?"

Giving a half-smile, Avarion shook his head. "We elves don't mourn our dead as you humans do. Death is just the passage from one existence to another: a solemn event, but not a sad one. My father lived a long life; he ruled here when Cornelia was still an infant nation, and remembered the time before the great civilizations of the north fell. After everything he endured, he deserves his long rest, and hearing our grief at his passing would only trouble him."

"Oh." Cen still looked a bit puzzled.

Avarion laughed quietly. "Don't worry; it's a philosophy that many humans have a hard time understanding. For you, life is so fleeting that it's only natural for its end to feel like a tragedy. For us, it's more like lying down to sleep at the end of a long day." He stopped, then laughed again and shook his head. "Ai, that was a poor analogy for me to use! I've had quite enough of sleep for the time being. You, on the other hand…" He looked around at the companions, all travel-worn and exhausted. "…look as though you haven't had _enough_ rest. You should retire to your chambers at once."

* * *

The coronation took place on the evening of the fifth day after the companions returned to Elfheim. The entire castle was abuzz with activity in the days prior as everyone worked to prepare for the grand event. Of the Light Warriors, only Sapphire had any part in the preparations, as she had to assist High Priestess Lauriel; the three men, however, just kept to their chambers so as to stay out of everyone's way. None of them protested; Rath was only too content to stay in his room and read in silence, and Cen and Estel were glad to have a few days to actually rest without worrying that some new crisis would rear its head. The few days in Elfheim seemed a godsend compared to what the group had been through in the past months.

The evening of the coronation came with great fanfare, and not just from the elves. A tremendous storm settled over Elfheim, rain falling in torrents and the clouds only darkening as the day went on. This, according to the elves, was a good omen, as they saw rainstorms as embodying the gods pouring blessings upon their kingdom. That one should occur during the coronation had the population of the castle all but exultant. This confused Cen and Estel greatly.

An elven guard led Cen, Estel, and Rath through the marble halls to the throne room, where the ceremony was to take place. Cen and Estel looked quite a bit better than usual, as the elves had provided them with some more formal attire for the event. The look—loose trousers and shirt, tied at the waist with a sash and with a robe-like longcoat over the top—actually suited Estel somewhat, and he even left off his bandana for once to look a little more respectable. Cen had trouble with it, though, and had needed to leave the coat behind as he was a bit too broad across the shoulders for it to fit properly. Rath, on the other hand, looked just as he ever did, wearing his battered old robes and hat in spite of having been given other clothes as Cen and Estel had. Neither of the others dared ask him about this.

The throne room had no door or even a curtain; it simply stood open to the landing and the wide staircase leading to it. The companions and their guide passed through the archway and into the long, marshlight-illuminated hall beyond. Cen and Estel stared around in blunt amazement as they walked onward; this room put every other part of the castle to shame. Shimmering, iridescent glass made up the walls, interrupted only by the occasional column of marble stretching from floor to ceiling. A similar sheet of glimmering glass made up the ceiling, and above, the roiling storm clouds could be seen, hurling rain down in sheets. At the far side of the chamber stood a dais, on which sat the throne, an elaborate oaken construction that, like everything else in the castle, looked as though it had grown into being; leaves even fluttered on it. Behind this, a mural depicting Odin, mighty warrior and Elfheim's patron god, decorated the wall.

The lords and ladies of Elfheim present matched the chamber's splendor. Not for nothing did the elves have a reputation as the most beautiful race in the world, and in light of the momentous evening, they were accentuating that trait as much as they could, bedecked in glistening silks and jewels. At the moment, they stood in an orderly fashion, facing the dais and the figures standing on it: Prince Avarion, Chancellor Eredon, a fair-haired and elegant couple who must have been the High Priest and Priestess, and, standing a bit behind the others, Sapphire, holding the box containing the crown and trying not to fidget.

The guard led Cen, Estel, and Rath to stand on the front row of the crowd. Rath's slouching posture did not change, but his piercing gaze swept across the room, giving it a clinical inspection. Cen tried to hold himself with some semblance of heroic dignity, perhaps somewhat out of habit, as his right hand kept going to his waist as though trying to find a sword hilt to rest on. Estel shuffled a little, pushing a wayward strand of hair away from his face and glancing around with some slight discomfort. Then, he looked forward and spotted Sapphire standing on the dais. He stared.

Sapphire looked different. She wore a more formal style of her white robes, the fabric pulled in at the waist, the neckline a bit lower, and the cowl and hood absent. Her red-gold hair hung loose, falling past her waist, though she had it pulled back from her face with a small clasp. A delicate silver necklace adorned with shimmering moonstones hung around her neck. Yet, for all this embellishment, she still looked quite like her old self: same blush-tinged face, same wide-eyed expression, same nervous manner.

Cen glanced at Estel and smirked. "Eyes back in your head," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

Estel made a rather incomprehensible sound in reply.

Cen had to try hard not to laugh aloud.

"If you start spouting off any of those 'poetic' things that Breeze taught you, then I'm going to have to hit you."

Estel did not get a chance to respond to this, as just then Eredon, looking resplendent in his elaborate pale green formal robes, stepped forward and began to speak.

The three companions did not get much out of the ceremony, as it was conducted entirely in the elven tongue. Cen and Rath at least pretended to be paying attention as first Eredon, then High Priest Rhimlath spoke, though the same could not be said of Estel. When the speeches at last ended, Sapphire stepped forward. She opened the box, revealing the sparkling, opal-studded crown, and held it out to Eredon. He bowed to her, took the crown, and turned to Avarion, who had gone down on one knee, his dark green robes pooled on the stone around him. Avarion bowed his head, and Eredon placed the crown on his brow. Outside, thunder rumbled and rain hissed against the glass.

A cheer went up from the crowd as Avarion, now King of Elfheim, rose to his feet and bowed to them. The others on the dais returned this gesture, then the crowd did as well. This seemed to be the cue for the formalities to end, as the crowd began to shift and move, but Avarion held up a hand, halting them.

"Wait," he said, speaking in Common rather than Elven. "There is one more matter to attend to this evening.

The elves murmured in quiet surprise for a moment, then quieted and watched their king as he continued speaking.

"No doubt many of you already know of this, thanks to our well-informed healers, but I will tell you of it now in my own words. Astos, our enemy for these last eighty years, has been slain!"

Many of the elves gasped, but the gasps quickly turned to cheers. Avarion lifted his hands to quiet them.

"Yes, Astos is dead. These warriors…" He gestured to Cen, Estel, and Rath, and back at Sapphire. "…found and defeated him, all in the name of helping wake me from his curse and in the hope of finding my father still alive. They have done a great deed for us, and for that, we owe them our utmost gratitude." He bowed to the Light Warriors, murmuring his thanks in the elven tongue, and all the other elves present did the same.

Sapphire squirmed where she stood on the dais, looking down at her feet and biting her lip. Cen looked very pleased with himself, and Estel, finally giving some notice to what was going on, tried to give the same impression. Rath slouched further into his collar, his hands clenched at his sides.

As the assembly rose, Avarion spoke again:

"Not only have they done all this, but they also have far greater tasks ahead of them for which we must be grateful. These four youths are the Warriors of Light, and the fate of our world rests upon their heads."

A flurry of awed and excited whispering broke out, but Avarion spoke over it.

"Times long foretold are upon us, my friends, times we have anticipated ever since the Sky People of the north fell so many centuries ago. We have been charged by the gods themselves to aid these Warriors when they arrive, and I have already striven to do so, helping to clear their path onward. And yet there is more that must be done." He turned to Cen, Estel, and Rath. "Step forward, Warriors."

Cen and Estel went to the dais at once, and after a moment, Rath followed. Sapphire hesitated, looking mortified over this unexpected fanfare, then stepped down to stand beside them. Estel cast a look at her out of the corner of his eye.

Avarion smiled at the Light Warriors, then gestured to High Priest Rhimlath. He stepped forward, holding a small box similar to the one that had contained the crown. He opened the box, and Avarion removed the contents: a black stone amulet, carved in the shape of a large claw and hung on a heavy pewter chain. Avarion held this up for the assembly to see.

"The Mystic Key. Granted to the royalty of Elfheim by the gods, that it should be given to their chosen warriors when the time comes. That time is now." He lowered the amulet, then held it out to Cen. "May you bear it with honor, Warriors. Restore light to the Crystals."

Cen reached out and took the amulet, just as the assembled elves murmured Avarion's last sentence in almost reverent tones. Not sure what else to do, he hung the chain around his neck, and Avarion gave a small, almost unnoticeable nod of approval. He made a similarly small 'turn around' gesture with one hand; Sapphire spotted this and did so at once, Estel and the others following suit just a moment later. Avarion held his hands up as though bestowing a benediction on the companions.

"The Warriors of Light!"

"The Warriors of Light!" the assembly cried back, some in Common, some in Elven. Sapphire relaxed slightly as she looked around, and she gave a small curtsy. Cen and Estel both bowed, but Rath remained resolutely straight-backed.

Avarion lowered his hands, then dropped his formal manner and stepped off the dais to join the Light Warriors. This definitively indicated the ceremonies were at an end, and the elves began to stir and mingle. The companions turned to Avarion, save for Rath, who instead half-turned and stared out the rain-lashed window.

"I apologize for not warning you about that," Avarion said, looking around at the companions. "Eredon has kept me so busy these last few days that I've hardly had time to myself, much less any to spend visiting with guests. Otherwise, I would have let you know about this beforehand."

Cen shrugged. "That's all right." He tapped the amulet. "What is this, anyway?"

Avarion smiled. "It's exactly what I said it is: a token from the gods. Odin himself delivered it to the King of Elfheim many centuries ago, with the charge to keep it safe until it could be given to the proper bearers, that is to say, given to you. If it has any particular properties, though, we haven't been able to find them; it must be an artifact that only you would be able to use properly."

"Huh." Cen picked up the amulet and looked at it for a moment with mild interest. "Well, I guess we'll have to keep our eyes open for something, then."

Avarion nodded approvingly, then looked from Cen to Rath and back. "Sapphire mentioned that you two were responsible for Astos's death. I'm very curious about how that occurred. Do you think you could explain to me what happened in detail?"

"Er…" Cen blinked, glanced at the uncaring Rath, then looked back at Avarion. "Yeah, sure."

Estel sidled over and tapped Sapphire on the shoulder.

"Hey, Saph? Could I, um, talk to you for a second?"

Sapphire started a bit, looking a little uncomfortable.

"What?"

"Talk. Er, y'know…" Estel gestured vaguely toward the side of the chamber. "Kinda private-like."

"Oh. Um, yes, all right."

The pair stepped off to the side to stand by one of the white pillars that framed the large, iridescent windows. Sapphire kept fiddling with her necklace and shot a glance or two back over her shoulder at Rath as she walked. As they reached the window, Estel turned to look at Sapphire, and he suddenly realized he had no idea what exactly to say. He just stared at her, the silence punctuated by the rain pattering against the windows and a distant rumble of thunder, while she watched him with confusion and some trepidation.

"Yes?"

"Ah…" Estel glanced away, rubbing the back of his head, then looked back at Sapphire. "You, er, look really nice tonight."

Sapphire's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh. I…well, thank you, Estel."

"You're welcome." Estel shuffled a little. "Um, Saph? Listen, I just…I wanna say I'm sorry for goin' off on you before. I mean, I was just really angry, but I still shouldn't've yelled at you like I did. So, um, yeah. Sorry."

"Oh…but…" Sapphire shook her head. "No, Estel, that's all right, really. You had every right to get angry at me. That was…I had been so stupid and stubborn, and I got us into so much danger that we didn't need to be in. And…" She paused, giving Estel a rather guilty look. "And I know what a hard time you had with everything, so I can't really blame you for being so upset with me." She paused again, fiddling with her sleeves a little and glancing away in discomfort. "Estel, I…about Marsh Cave—"

"Let's not bring that up," Estel said, wincing at the memory.

Sapphire opened her mouth to speak, then stopped and nodded. "All right." She glanced out the window, watching the raindrops coursing down the glass, then looked back at Estel. "Thank you. For your apology, I mean."

"You're welcome. I, er, would've said it sooner, but—"

"That's all right. I…needed some time to think about things, anyway."

"Oh yeah?"

Sapphire nodded. "Just about…about everything that's been happening, and everything we still have in front of us. I mean, I just…I did so awfully with all this, and this was just one little thing out of everything we're going to have to do. You and…and Rath were right; I can't keep thinking that someone else is going to be able to make up for things I've done wrong. A lot of people could get hurt if I keep doing that." She gave a decisive nod. "I'm going to do better. I need to…I need to start being more mature."

Estel blinked a few times, looking both surprised and impressed.

"I… Well, wow, good for you, Saph. I mean, a lot of people would just get all offended over this kinda thing. I, er…" He hesitated, then added, "I'm glad you're not like that. I hated havin' to be angry at you."

Sapphire looked a bit puzzled.

"Oh. Well—"

An astonished gasp interrupted her. She and Estel both looked toward the dais, where most of the crowd had converged. It seemed Cen was having great success with his retelling of the battle with Astos, the elves proving to be a very appreciative audience. The storyteller was certainly enjoying the attention; as Estel and Sapphire watched, Cen, just visible through a gap in the crowd, paused in his narrative to reassure a few elf maidens who stood near the front, one of whom had apparently been the one to gasp. He gave them an almost indecently charming smile before picking up where he had left off, leaving the elf maidens swooning.

Estel scowled. "How the hell does he do that?"

"Do what?" Sapphire asked, looking confused.

"Make girls go all fainty like that. I can't _ever_ make girls do that." Estel stopped, then winced as he realized he had just said this aloud. He shot a look at Sapphire out of the corner of his eye. "Erm, I mean…"

Sapphire, however, just continued watching Cen and the crowd, oblivious to Estel's sudden discomfort. After a moment, though, she frowned and looked around the shimmering chamber.

"Where's Rath?"

Estel relaxed. "Huh. I dunno." He scanned the room as well, putting rather more effort into this than he might have otherwise. "Maybe he left? He has been kinda in one of those moods lately."

"Oh…" Sapphire's shoulders slumped, and her gaze dropped to the marble floor as she began fiddling with her sleeves. "I see. Do you…" She looked up at Estel. "Do you think he's still angry?"

"He's _always_ angry," Estel answered without thinking.

"No, I…I meant, still angry at me."

"Oh. Well, I dunno. Kinda hard to say, really." Estel noticed the crestfallen look on Sapphire's face as he said this, hesitated, then he gave a defeated sigh and added, "I don't really think he is, though. I mean, you did own up to everything, and that you didn't want to is kinda what he had a problem with in the first place. Can't really see him havin' a good reason to keep bein' angry at you after that, y'know? I sure didn't."

Sapphire perked up. "You think so?"

"Yeah," Estel said, trying to inject a positive tone into his voice, though the look in his eyes was slightly pained. "Yeah, sure. I guess he's just got something else on his mind, or maybe he would've come told you himself."

Sapphire blushed, and she smiled a little. "Oh, good. I was just, um…"

"You don't gotta explain," Estel said, shrugging. "I get what the deal is."

Sapphire's eyes went very round, but Estel went on before she could speak.

"But, y'know, you're gonna wanna do a real good job with that whole 'bein' more mature' thing, 'cause I bet he figures there's still stuff to make up for."

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, I know. I'm going to try very hard to do that."

"Good." Estel glanced over at the gathering by the dais. "Well, how about we go mix with the crowd, huh? Can't let Cen have 'em all to himself, right?"

The pair walked back over to the group. Estel lagged behind, letting Sapphire move ahead of him, but he just stared moodily down at the white marble floor rather than taking in the view this afforded.

* * *

It had grown quite late by the time Cen and Estel left the throne room. Looking at the pair of them lounging in two of the squashy, comfortable chairs in the main chamber of Cen's rooms, it was clear who had had the more enjoyable evening.

"That wasn't a bad time," Cen commented, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "I figured that a coronation would be a lot more boring than that."

Estel, slouched down in his chair with his arms folded across his chest, just pulled a face. "Yeah, well, 'course _you_ had a good time."

Noticing Estel's acidic tone, Cen frowned and looked over at him.

"What's with that?"

Estel did not answer.

Cen sighed and shook his head. "I'm guessing the apology didn't work, right?"

"Oh, it worked…"

"She was just hoping to hear it from Rath instead?"

Estel nodded, looking morose.

They sat in silence for a moment, then Cen spoke up.

"I don't get how you could've thought anything else would happen, really."

Estel glowered. "You're not helping!"

Cen lifted his hands in a defensive gesture. "Well, what am I supposed to say? Is it my fault that she's completely got it for Rath and keeps brushing you off?"

"No, but you could at least _pretend_ to take my side instead of pointin' out that I'm just makin' an idiot outta myself. We can't _all_ be sex gods, Cen."

"Well, no—" Cen broke off, blinking. "Wait, who says _I_ am?"

Estel gave him a dull look. "How many girls invited you over tonight?"

"I dunno. A couple."

"See? And that's when you ain't even _trying_!" Estel looked away, fuming and slumping down farther in his chair. "It's not fair."

"Yeah, and that isn't my fault either, so quit pulling faces like that. Look, Estel." Cen waited until Estel deigned to glance over at him, then continued. "It's fine that you're still trying for this, and you're my friend, so I'll try to help you out if I can, but if you're going to keep beating your head against a wall, don't expect me to feel really bad when you complain that you have a headache. Okay?"

Estel muttered something rude under his breath, then nodded. "Yeah, I get it." He sat in moody silence for a moment, then he levered himself out of his chair. "I'm gonna go to bed. See you tomorrow."

"Sure. Good night, Estel."

"'Night."


	14. A Family Affair

**Chapter 14: A Family Affair**

The companions only had to wait a couple of days after the coronation before they could leave Elfheim, as all they had needed was confirmation that the nitro powder had reached Duergar. They had a temporary, unexpected addition to their party, however: Avarion insisted on accompanying them part of the way. No amount of persuasion would change his mind.

"Well, honestly," he said, looking a bit piqued as Eredon began ennumerating the reasons he needed to stay, "if _you_ had been completely immobile for more than a year, wouldn't you want to get out and do something as soon as you could? I will die of restlessness otherwise, I assure you. Regardless, I happen to feel it a matter of honor to at least see the Warriors on their way."

Avarion's persistance won out in the end, and so he, along with his personal guards, joined with the Light Warriors' group. Eredon saw them off from Castle Elfheim, as did High Priestess Lauriel and her husband, Telior, who came with the express purpose of bidding farewell to their adopted daughter. Sapphire smiled and hugged them both as they said good-bye to her in Elven.

The now sizeable group left Elfheim, and the brief journey passed pleasantly, as only Rath had any issue with having additional traveling companions. Avarion added some good-natured ribbing about this to Cen and Estel's teasing, thus solidifying his positive reputation with the two young men. This inclusion left Rath to fend for himself, however, as Sapphire, ever his sole supporter, seemed reluctant to speak out against her king's behavior.

The elves accompanied the companions for quite some distance, seeing them as far as the newly reopened Duergar Canal. This meant that for a few days the _Charybdis_ had the company of the stunning, fifty-oar royal longship, the _Benthesikyme_. Estel had stared at this name for a solid half hour, trying to figure out how to pronounce it.

Though it still lacked any refinements or finishing touches, the Duergar Canal was now serviceable, the Aldean Sea once again opening onto the Gulf of Melmond to the west. The two elven vessels drew in their sails and halted side by side just before the opening, and Avarion, standing beneath a royal green canopy near the _Benthesikyme_'s helm, waved across the sunlit water at the Light Warriors.

"Fare well on your journey, Warriors!" he called. "It's only a pity I couldn't help you more than I have; you certainly deserve more."

Cen, perched on the gunwale, gave a short laugh. "Watch it, or we might just remember that! We'll see you later!"

"I certainly hope so!" Avarion grinned. "I expect to hear a full report when you return, Sapphire. Make sure you don't forget anything that happens."

Sapphire waved back. "Yes, I'll remember. Good-bye, Your Majesty!"

"'Bye!" Estel waved with one hand while holding the sheets tight to keep the sail furled with the other. Only Rath, positioned at the tiller, offered no parting words, giving the barest flick of his fingers in acknowledgement of the farewell.

With this, the _Charybdis_'s sail unfurled, and the ship continued onward, through the canal and into the Gulf of Melmond.

Cen sighed and looked out at the new stretch of ocean. "Finally…"

Sapphire, looking quite pristine in her new white traveling robes, turned to look at him. "You've been really worried, haven't you?"

"Wouldn't you be?" Cen asked, glancing at her and raising an eyebrow. Before she could reply, he held up a silencing finger. "No more talking. Get back to practice."

"Oh. Right."

Sapphire picked up her hammer from where she had lain it on a bench, then walked up to the bow of the ship. A bigeyes lay on the deck there, tied up with its own tentacles and flopping pointlessly, its bulbous eyes unblinking in the bright sunlight. Cen had caught it earlier in the day for use as a target for Sapphire's hammer-wielding lessons. Sapphire felt a bit bad about this at first, but when the creature paralyzed Cen and Rath just by touching them, she suddenly had no qualms about knocking it around the deck. Cen and Estel both found it very entertaining to watch her chase it, and so Rath had been obliged to take the tiller for the duration of the exercise. This did not look as though it would last much longer; the bigeyes had taken quite a beating already.

Cen watched as Sapphire swung her hammer back and landed a solid blow against the creature's side, and he nodded in approval as it went tumbling across the deck.

"Good. You're getting better at following through on your swing."

Sapphire looked over at him. "You think so?"

"Yeah, definitely. Of course, it's harder when the thing you're fighting moves around a lot, but you've got a good start."

Sapphire beamed, then turned her attention back to the bigeyes.

Finished with the sail, Estel wandered over and plunked himself down on a bench beside Cen's perch, leaning back and watching Sapphire attack the bigeyes again. He had not mentioned his less than reassuring experience at the coronation since his conversation about it with Cen; apparently he had taken the comment about complaining to heart.

"She's doin' better," he commented.

Cen nodded. "Yeah. She's really been working hard at this."

Just then, Sapphire's mock battle came to an end; instead of yielding to the momentum of the hammer, one of the creature's eyes ruptured, popping open and spilling slimy liquid over the deck. Sapphire yelped and jumped backward, clutching the hem of her robes out of the way. Estel, unable to help himself, burst out laughing at the startled look on her face.

"Yeah, those things kinda go all at once, don't they?"

Sapphire frowned at him. "Oh, don't joke. It just surprised me, that's all." She turned her disapproving gaze down at the mess on the deck. "How am I supposed to clean this up now?"

Rath, not looking over, muttered something and waved a hand toward the punctured bigeyes. There was a rush of coldness, and the creature froze solid. Rath made another inattentive gesture, and it shattered into diamond dust, leaving a clean deck behind. Sapphire blinked in surprise at the now-empty space, then at Rath.

"Um…thank you, Rath."

Rath gave a half-shrug. "It was the quickest method of removal."

Sapphire frowned at Rath for a moment, then she shook her head and sighed. She walked over and settled herself on a bench next to the one Estel occupied, setting her hammer on the deck at her feet.

"You really think I'm doing better, Cen?"

Cen nodded. "Yeah, I do. You still have a ways to go, but it shouldn't take you too long to get a lot better if you keep working this hard at it."

"What are some of the other things I'll have to work on?"

"Hm…" Cen thought for a moment. "Well, I think strategy is going to be pretty important for you. Knowing the best place to hit whatever you're fighting is good, especially because you can't get the same kind of weight behind a hit and just smash things apart through straight force."

"Right."

"Of course," Cen added, "if you're fighting something you've never seen before, you can't exactly know the best place to hit it. So either make a guess, or watch it and try to get an idea of how it all fits together before hitting. Oh…" He grinned. "…and a head shot will pretty much always work. You're pretty good at that already."

Sapphire gave an embarrassed smile. "It just…always seemed like the best place to hit."

"Can't argue with that," Estel said. "Saved me with it before, haven't you?"

Before Sapphire could reply, Rath interrupted the conversation:

"Estel, come take this. I have reading to do."

Estel pulled a disgusted face before turning to face Rath. "Why? You're _always_ readin', it won't kill you to take a break for a day."

Rath raised an eyebrow. "I would prefer not. You may believe otherwise, but I do not, in fact, learn my spells by osmosis."

"Yeah, yeah, fine." Estel waved a dismissive hand in Rath's direction, then got to his feet and walked over to the tiller. "You sure got a lotta rules."

Rath did not acknowledge this comment beyond giving Estel a vaguely exasperated look. He released the tiller, collected his stack of books from behind him, then made his way across the deck to a point as far as possible from Cen and Sapphire before settling down and opening one of the tomes. Estel pulled a face at his back as he walked away before taking the tiller.

Sapphire frowned at him, looking slightly hurt. "Estel, please don't."

Estel sighed, then nodded before turning his attention to steering the ship. The sparkling water slipped smoothly by as it cut its way forward, tossing spray into the light breeze.

Picking at her sleeves a little, Sapphire turned back to Cen, who had taken out a small chunk of wood and begun whittling it with his short knife; he had been engaged in this activity quite a bit lately. He slid onto a bench so he could lean back against the gunwale as he worked. Sapphire watched him with interest.

"What are you working on?"

Cen blew away a few shavings, then held the object out for her to see: it was a small, half-finished carving of a bird, quite well done given the tools Cen was limited to. Sapphire gave a quiet, impressed, "oh".

"It's a present," Cen explained. "For one of my nieces. She always likes it when we bring her stuff when we visit." He started back to work on the carving.

Sapphire stared. "…Your niece?"

Cen smiled, not looking up from what he was doing. "You sound surprised."

"I just…I never pictured you as an uncle."

"Heh." Cen's smile widened a bit. "Yeah, I am. My brother, his name's Tristan, is kind of a lot older than me, and he and his wife had their first kid when I was about eight. They have four now."

"Wow…"

"Yeah, they're a lot of fun. It's too bad I can't get out to see them more often."

"Why are they in Melmond? I thought you said you were from Crescent Lake."

"It's something to do with Tristan's work. He says that he really likes it there, though, so he might stay for good."

"Must not like it much now," Estel put in.

Cen sobered and fell silent, focusing on his carving. Sapphire frowned in concern and shot a look over at Estel.

"How long will it take to get there, do you think?" Cen asked.

"Um…" Estel thought for a moment. "Not too long. We should get there by sunset tomorrow if this wind keeps up."

Cen sighed and relaxed a little. "Good." He looked up, staring out at the expanse of water that lay before the _Charybdis_. "I hope they're all okay…"

* * *

Melmond lay in a precarious position. Not that its geographical location was poor; indeed, it lay in what was, until very recently, the most fertile, rich land in the world, and the people there prospered because of this. What made the city's position so unenviable were the political ramifications. All the land west of the Kobold Mountains on Cornelia's western border fell officially under the jurisdiction of Duergar; this included the long, verdant spur of land jutting west and south. However, as often happens, the presence of such a fertile area caused some contention, especially when Duergar's trade policies entered the equation. Tired of paying the dwarves' high tariffs for the exported crops, Cornelia decided to take a more proactive approach:

They established the colony of Melmond.

Duergar's protest of this was loud and prolonged. That Cornelia refused to withdraw, indeed going so far as to add more colonies to the region, did nothing to help matters. Only Elfheim's timely intervention stopped things from elevating into an all-out war, and then only just. The relations between the two countries never recovered, and they retained a constant, suspicious watch on one another. Many people speculated that Elfheim's continued alliance with both nations was the only thing keeping them from one another's throats, even now, near eighty years after Melmond's founding.

The general citizenry of Melmond gave little heed to this chaotic past. They considered themselves Cornelian citizens, used gil with the Cornelian crest stamped on them, and built their homes in Cornelian fashion. The cathedral housed images of Alexander, Cornelia's patron god. The population of Melmond, its sister cities, and the small townships that had grown off from them remained entirely human. The dwarves had as little to do with the colonists as possible.

Of course, at the moment, no one wanted anything to do with Melmond; the Light Warriors arrived near sunset to find the harbor almost empty. Those few ships that were there did not linger, only taking care of necessary business and doing so swiftly. The city wall loomed to the east, the stone stained red by the setting sun.

The _Charybdis_ drew into a berth, and the companions gathered what things they needed and disembarked. What they could see of the surrounding countryside did nothing to encourage them as to the situation, and they stared around with astonishment.

What had once been fertile farmland had degenerated into a bubbling, fetid swamp. No trees marred the desolate grey landscape, and faint vapors and gases wafted up from the ground, making everything look hazy and dark. A feeble breeze brought the heavy stench of decay to the companions' nostrils. To the north, foothills and low mountains could be seen, their formerly lush sides now brown and scarred by landslides. The land along the shore look parched and puckered, the salt of the ocean sucking the moisture from the putrefying land.

"So," Rath commented quietly, "this is what happens when the earth rots."

The city itself looked little better. The outer wall had collapsed in several places, the rock crumbling along with the rest of the land. The roads were in disrepair, now little more than dirt tracks among the buildings with an occasional cobblestone or pothole to break the monotony. Many of the buildings seemed to be falling apart, shingles falling from their roofs, wood warping, stone chipping from their sides. The cathedral had been entirely destroyed; only a heap of fire-blackened rubble marked where it had stood. Even the people looked broken, huddled in groups and all with strained, weary expressions on their faces. They gave the companions wary looks and moved away as they approached.

With one exception. A group of men stood near the remains of the church; deep in conversation, they did not notice the companions' presence. One man in the group, however, caught Cen's attention: markedly taller than the others, even taller than Cen himself, he had long, white-blond hair and was dressed entirely in bright crimson, from his boots to his extravagant plumed hat.

Cen heaved a sigh of utter relief. "There he is."

"Yeah, that's him," Estel said, grinning. "I'd know that stupid hat anywhere."

"Hm." Rath raised an eyebrow. "He certainly is…forward about his craft. Most red mages are not quite so flamboyant."

The group of men began to disperse. The red-clad man gave a few last parting comments, then he spotted the companions. A wide grin spread across his face.

"Cen!" He strode over to them and grabbed Cen in a bone-breaking hug. "So there you are! We were starting to get worried."

"Nice to see you too, Tristan," Cen said, sounding badly strangled. Tristan released him, and he took a step backwards, massaging his ribs. "Wait, how did you know we were coming?"

"Elend," Tristan replied, smiling. "He sent a carrier message along from Pravoka telling me to expect you. That was quite a while ago, though, and when the canal collapsed, we weren't sure you'd make it."

Estel gave a snort of derision. "Since when'd an oversized dirt clod be enough to stop us? You ain't keepin' us away that easy, Tris."

Tristan laughed. "I wouldn't dare try." He looked around at the group. "Ah, and these must be your new friends. Rath and Sapphire, am I right?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes. It's very nice to meet you, Tristan."

"The pleasure is mine," Tristan said, giving her a sweeping bow. He rose and turned to Rath. "And Rath. Something of a traditionalist yourself, I see." He nodded toward Rath's distinctive attire, then extended his hand; Rath, after a moment's suspicious scrutiny, shook it. Tristan smiled, then turned back to his brother.

"So Elend told you about what's going on here."

Cen nodded. "Yeah. We got here as fast as we could."

"Looks like we made it just in time," Estel said, looking around at the decrepit city with a mix of pity and disgust. "This place looks like hell, Tris."

Tristan sighed and shook his head. "You don't have to tell me; I've had to watch it happen. This is getting to be a full-blown crisis. No one dares to leave their homes at night anymore, for all the good it does. Not even the church was safe." He gestured to the rubble behind him.

"It's awful," Sapphire said, speaking as one would at someone's deathbed. "Everything's just…falling apart…"

"Including the people," Tristan said. "I doubt they can take much more of this, and the governor certainly thinks so. He's drafting plans to abandon the city."

Estel nodded. "Good idea."

"Well…" Tristan frowned. "Not really. Yes, we might have to evacuate, but I still think something can be done about this. He's giving up too easily."

"Oh, yeah," Cen said, folding his arms across his chest and looking smug. "You can't duck out yet; your reinforcements just got here."

Tristan shook his head and laughed.

"True! And trust me, I'll be glad of the extra help. Things have gotten pretty hectic lately." He waved a hand around at the degenerating town. "I came here to work with Dr. Unne, and ended up in a war zone."

"What're you workin' on?" Estel asked.

Tristan smiled, obviously pleased by the chance to talk about his work. "Dr. Unne and I found a stone tablet while on a dive near Onrac."

Rath's eyes widened, but he said nothing. Tristan continued:

"The text is Lufenian, and we've been working to translate it. It's been tricky; Lufenian is an incredibly complex language. We're hoping to learn valuable information about Lufenian society from the text, though." He looked up at the darkening sky. "I don't think we can talk here much longer. It isn't safe to be out after dark."

He started walking and gestured for the others to follow him. "You can stay at my home while you're here; we have plenty of room." He grinned at Cen and Estel. "Kirien and the children will be glad to see you."

* * *

Tristan led the group through the city to a two-story house, somewhat less broken than its neighbors, near the northern wall. Though boards covered the ground floor windows, lamplight flickered between the gaps. On the front porch stood an attractive, dark-haired woman. She waved to Tristan and the others as they approached.

"Who have you brought home?" she asked Tristan; her tone was pleasant, but she looked thin and wan, as though she had not been sleeping well. She reached out and took Tristan's hand as he drew near.

"Just my renegade brothers and their friends, dear," Tristan said with a wink. He kissed her gently on the cheek.

Kirien turned to Cen and Estel, smiling. "Of course." She embraced each of them in turn. "It's good to see you boys again."

"It's good to see you too, Kirien," Cen said with utmost sincerity. "We were worried that we'd get here too late and you would all be gone."

"Oh, so suddenly I can't protect my own family from undead?" Tristan said, feigning indignation. "Thanks a lot, Cen."

Cen introduced Rath and Sapphire to Kirien, then the group turned and entered the house. The front room was small and sparsely decorated, but comfortable. In the corner opposite the door, a slender twelve-year-old girl sat in a well-worn armchair, diligently plucking a simple melody on the lute she held, while three younger children, two boys and a girl, sat in the middle of the floor, playing some kind of card game. They all looked up as the door opened, and the youngest, a four-year-old girl with carrot-colored hair, squealed in delight.

"Cen, Cen!"

She scrambled up and ran to him, clamping onto his legs. Cen laughed and picked her up. The girl's older brothers, a ten-year-old with sandy-blond hair and an eight-year-old with hair the exact color of his father's, ran over and tackled Cen as well, their elder sister just behind them. All the children began talking at once.

"Well, geez," Estel said, speaking loud enough to be heard over the din. "You all jump him, but what about me? Do I smell funny or something?"

The eldest girl laughed and turned to hug him. "Sorry, Uncle Estel."

"Ah, that's better." Estel grinned, returning the hug. "And that's why you're my favorite, Lexa."

"All right, _all right_," Tristan shouted over the babble. "Let your uncles breathe a bit; they're very tired. Kole, Seth, _off_…" He helped Cen pry the boys off, and Cen set the little girl down beside them. "Shouldn't you all be in bed, anyway?"

"No," Kole, the sandy-haired boy, said. "Mom said we could stay up until you got home from your meeting."

"I'm home now," Tristan pointed out, but he was smiling.

"But Cen's here!" the little girl exclaimed, attaching herself to Cen's leg again.

"Can't we stay up a little longer?" Seth asked.

Tristan gave them a mock-stern look. "One hour," he said at last. "Then off to bed. It's bad to stay up late, remember?"

"Yes," the children chorused, then, as Lexa went back to her seat, the two boys pulled Cen down to sit on the floor with them.

"Help us play this game," Kole said. "We need three and Nici can't do it right."

"I can so!" the little girl said indignantly, frowning.

Tristan chuckled and gestured for the other companions to have a seat. Estel planted himself on the floor next to Cen, scooping up Nici and depositing her in his lap, but Rath and Sapphire chose to sit in two of the chairs. Tristan sat down beside them.

"So what's been going on here?" Cen asked, glancing up from the game.

Tristan shook his head. "You name it. About a year ago we began noticing the decay of the earth, and around that same time the attacks started. It's just gotten worse since then, as you've seen. At the start, it was only zombies, which was alarming enough since there were so many of them, but then the vampire started turning up as well. There are more of them now; they come nearly every night."

Sapphire's eyes widened. "There are more than one?"

"Quite a few more. They're not fully matured yet, but it's only a matter of time. I don't know how much more we'll be able to take. They destroyed the church last time they attacked, and that really scared people. If the church isn't safe, then what is?"

Silence fell. The older children, busy with their other activities, seemed used to these kinds of discussions and did not appear bothered. Nici, however, made a scared little noise and covered her eyes with her hands. Estel gave her thin shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

"Hey, what's that about? You don't gotta be scared with us around."

Nici nodded but did not uncover her eyes.

Rath drummed his fingers along the collar of his robes. "Have you tried a direct offensive against the vampire and his creatures?" he asked Tristan.

"Only twice, and both attempts went badly. The people don't want to risk it again, though we're certain that the vampire is what's causing the decay of the land."

"What can we do to help?" Sapphire asked.

"Quite a bit, actually." Tristan leaned forward in his chair. "We only have a few people ready and able to defend the city; the people here are farmers, not warriors. Having you all here almost doubles our numbers, and combat in the city is difficult, so we can use all the help we can get."

Sapphire tilted her head. "How is it difficult?"

"Because we're almost entirely restricted to hand-to-hand combat. Fire would destroy the zombies, at least, but flesh takes time to burn, even for magic. We don't want to risk a burning ghoul getting shoved into a building and setting it on fire as well."

Amazingly, Sapphire perked up.

"Dia would work though, wouldn't it? I mean, it would destroy the zombies without hurting the buildings or even other people."

Tristan stared at her. "You know Dia?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes. It's one of the first spells I ever learned."

After another moment of staring, a grin spread across Tristan's face.

"Sapphire, I could kiss you."

Sapphire went a bit pink. Estel, trying to coax Nici's hands away from her face, laughed and looked over at Tristan.

"Better not let Kirien know that, Tris."

"Yes, yes, very funny," Tristan said, waving away Estel's joke. "But really, Sapphire, that's wonderful. You're going to save us a lot of trouble here."

Sapphire beamed. "Good. That's…" She shot a look at Rath out of the corner of her eye, checking his reaction to Tristan's words, but he had glanced away to watch the children and did not seem to have heard. "…I'm glad I'll be able to help."

Tristan nodded. "You certainly will. That's a skill we haven't had at all up 'til now, and to be honest, we hadn't missed it; it's a little too specialized for everyday use. Since all this has started, though?" He gave a hollow laugh. "I've wished every day that I had been born with the ability to learn that."

He looked away, watching Cen, Estel, and the children. Lexa had ceased her music practice, instead watching the others. Kole and Seth squabbled over some point of the game, while Estel had finally gotten Nici to show her face again. Cen further placated her by giving her the little wooden bird he had carved; she took it and examined it with delight, her blue eyes round. Tristan sighed.

"Well, enough talking about all that now; not with the kids here. You'll get your chance to see everything later anyway." He turned his attention to Cen, raising his voice a bit to get his attention. "All right, Cen. Now tell me what _you've_ been doing lately. Elend mentioned something about 'saving the world'…?"

Cen looked up at once and, aided by Estel, launched into a retelling of their quest, with Sapphire listening and nodding occasionally. Lexa listened intently, lute forgotten in her lap, but Kole and Seth, growing bored, got up and wandered over to where Rath sat. Rath, surprisingly, did not object to this.

"Are you a mage?" Seth asked.

"Yes, I am."

"Show us some magic."

Rath rubbed his hands together, making rather a show of what he was doing, then started snapping his fingers. Multi-colored flames—blue, red, green—flew up from his fingertips, disappearing in wisps of smoke. The boys looked suitably impressed.

"Cool…"

"We can do magic too," Kole informed him.

"Oh yes?" Rath said without a trace of his usual sarcasm. He leaned forward in his chair, watching with, by all appearances, genuine interest. "Let me see."

Kole took out a small stone and proceeded to make it disappear and reappear repeatedly from various places, such as inside his brother's ear. It was just simple sleight-of-hand, but Rath acted impressed anyway.

"Good, huh?" Kole said.

"Very good," Rath agreed. "May I try?"

Kole handed the stone to Rath. Sapphire looked away from Cen's story to watch as Rath copied Kole's tricks perfectly, as well as adding a few of his own, like setting the stone on fire and levitating it in a web of electricity. The boys oohed and aahed, and Sapphire applauded. Rath ignored her.

"Wow, that's even better than what Dad can do. Let me try!" Kole took his stone back and tried, in vain, to copy Rath's tricks.

"You're doing it wrong," Seth said. "Let me do it." He snatched the stone from his brother, but had no success. Frustrated, he turned to Rath. "How did you do that?"

"Like this." Rath took the stone again and repeated the routine. The boys looked utterly perplexed, grabbing Rath's hand and studying both it and the stone, and then Rath did something his companions had never heard him do before:

He laughed.

It was a surprisingly pleasant sound, completely at odds with his usual scathing tone, and while Kole and Seth merely protested it because it was directed at them, it stunned the other Light Warriors. Sapphire and Estel both gaped at him, Estel looking intensely puzzled, Sapphire almost pleased. Cen broke off in his storytelling out of astonishment, leaving the room silent save for Rath's unprecedented bout of mirth. Rath paid no attention to this, and, his eyes for once narrowed in a smile rather than in irritation, he began pacifying the boys' indignation.

Tristan glanced around at the companions with mild confusion.

"Is there a problem?"

"Huh?" Cen looked back at his brother, his brow furrowed. "No, no, it's fine…"

The sound of wolves howling outside broke the moment. Everyone in the room fell silent, listening.

"Okay, kids, time for bed," Tristan said. He tried to sound unconcerned, but his expression was tense. He stood and ushered the children out of the room. "Go get Mom to tuck you in, all right?"

This time, the children did not protest; they quietly left the room and went to find Kirien. Nici paused in the doorway and looked worriedly up at her father.

"Will my room be quiet?"

Tristan nodded. "Yes, it will. I'll double-check in a minute, okay?"

"Okay." Nici nodded solemnly, then followed her brothers and sister.

Tristan resumed his seat.

"I hate that they have to deal with all this. I do everything I can to shield them from it, but it never seems like enough. If the governor implements the evacuation, I'm sending Kirien and the kids out, even if I stay to defend the town."

"Perhaps you could further explain the situation, Tristan," Rath said, his moment of levity forgotten. "What of the surrounding towns? Are they similarly afflicted?"

Tristan slumped back in his chair. "Less afflicted and more doing the afflicting, by this point. I couldn't understand where the sheer numbers of zombies were coming from, so I went to the next nearest city to investigate." He shut his eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I found one survivor. He had barricaded himself on top of the armory to protect himself from the city's former inhabitants. The poor man was a gibbering wreck; I managed to get him out of the city, and once I made sure that he wasn't wounded, I put him on the first boat to Cornelia. I figured he would appreciate getting as far away as possible."

"Oh…" Sapphire put her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. "Oh, that's awful. That poor man…I hope he's all right now."

Tristan nodded his agreement, as did Cen and Estel.

Rath, however, just narrowed his eyes in thought and apparent bafflement. He seemed to be frowning behind his collar. "With such numbers of undead, this city should, by all logic, be completely besieged or overrun. That certainly did not seem to be the case when we arrived, and in my experience, the undead do not generally restrict their assaults to certain hours of the day."

"Exactly," Tristan said. "I can't understand it. With, I'm guessing, the entire population of the other three cities and all the minor towns infected, we _should_ be completely surrounded by this point. But we're not." He shook his head, looking suddenly angry. "This doesn't make sense! It's as though _everything_ is working in favor of the undead. They only attack at night, when humans are more vulnerable. We can't chase them down in the daytime, because they sink into the swamps—swamps that started appearing _exactly when they did_—and disappear. The vampires even seem to be able to control them, herding them like sheep, so even if we staged an assault outside the city, the blasted things wouldn't even come to us!" He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and one hand to his forehead. "That's _not_ typical behavior. Something else is behind this, and it's something powerful enough to pervert an already perverted force of nature."

"The vampire," Estel said, nodding. "The first one, right?"

Tristan nodded, not lifting his head. "That's the theory, anyway. None of my research has described vampires having this kind of power, though. Zombies are supposed to be uncontrollable, but he's controlling them." He sighed and sat back in his chair. "That's how the church was destroyed. We tried to burn the zombies, so we lured them into the main square and hemmed them in, then lit them up. Then…the vampire arrived, with his 'children,' and drove the burning zombies into the cathedral."

Cen winced. "I bet _that_ was pretty."

"Compared to the aftermath, yes, actually. After the building had collapsed, some of the zombies started crawling out of the rubble. Smashed, broken, blackened…but still mobile. It was like watching maggots writhing in a mangled carcass."

Sapphire looked ill, and she leaned forward to stare down at the floorboards, breathing hard. Estel looked at her, then scooted over to sit beside her chair. He gave her knee a reassuring pat, and she seized his hand in a slightly desperate grip.

"Where's the vampire's lair?" Cen asked. "If he's the one behind this, we ought to take him out; that'd make everything stop."

"That's what we're hoping, anyway." Tristan sighed, staring blankly across the room. "We suspect that the lair is in Jord Cave. From what I've been able to determine, that's where the decay first started."

"Hm." Rath looked mildly intrigued. "How…coincidental."

"Jord Cave's where we figure the Earth Crystal is," Estel told Tristan.

Tristan nodded. "You figure right. It never struck me as a coincidence that's where the source of all this mess should be. That the vampire hails from there solidifies the theory that he's the one behind this. I wanted to investigate myself, but…"

He trailed off, and in the silence, they could hear the wolves howling again. Tristan tilted his head.

"They're getting closer." He looked around at Cen and the others. "I have to watch the perimeter, but you can all go to bed if you want. You've had a long journey."

Estel gave Tristan an incredulous look. "What, you think we're gonna bail outta what we came here to do in the first place? You feelin' okay, Tris?"

"Yeah, are you kidding?" Cen's expression mirrored Estel's. "Of course we'll stay up to help."

Sapphire, looking somewhat recovered, nodded. "Yes, of course."

Rath shrugged, then nodded as well.

"Thanks." Tristan smiled faintly. "I thought you would, but I didn't want to impose on you your first night here."

Estel snorted. "Impose away. Otherwise, why the hell'd we come, huh?"

Rath raised an eyebrow. "Ahem."

"Yeah, yeah…" Estel flapped a hand at him. "Light the Crystal, save the world. I remember."

Tristan's smile gave way to a laugh. "Well, at least you have your priorities straight there, Estel," he said. "All right, then, let's—" He broke off with a wince. "Oh, I just remembered." He pointed to Rath. "I have something for you."

Rath froze halfway out of his chair and stared at Tristan.

"What?"

"A letter," Tristan said. "It arrived in Pravoka just after you all left, and Elend sent it along for you when he sent off his message to me."

This explanation did nothing to diminish Rath's shock. He sat back down in his chair with a conflicted expression in his eyes. Finally, he settled into a look of suspicion.

"Who is the original sender?"

Tristand shook his head. "I didn't look. It must be important, though; it's sealed with the royal crest." He stepped out of the room, heading to retrieve the letter.

Realization dawned in Rath's eyes, completely eclipsing the suspicion. Similar knowing looks came over Cen and Estel, accompanied by rather vindictive glee.

"Ooh, Rath…"

"…she sent you a _letter_."

Tristan returned and gave Cen and Estel an odd look.

"Yes?"

"Nothing," Rath snapped before either Cen or Estel could reply. He held his hand out to take the letter. "I thank you for holding that for me, Tristan."

"You're welcome…" Tristan handed the letter to Rath while still looking at Cen and Estel with confusion; the pair seemed to be trying to hold back an absolute torrent of laughter. Rath glowered at them, while Sapphire, face turning scarlet, seemed torn between doing the same and looking very downcast indeed.

"Oh, stop it," she said at last. "It's…it isn't funny…"

Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Cen? Estel? Come on, get a grip on yourselves."

"Right," Estel managed to say. "Sorry, Tris. It's just…" He gave a quickly-stifled snort of laughter. "It's just too damn funny."

"Maybe, but we don't have time to go to pieces right now. Come on, let's go get set up for the night."

"Yeah, okay." Cen got to his feet. "Come on, guys."

Estel and Sapphire both rose as well, but Rath remained seated.

"I will join you shortly."

Cen and Estel smirked at one another, both looking ready to comment on this, but Tristan shot them a quelling look and they kept quiet. The group left the room, Sapphire trailing along despondently at the rear. Rath slit open the envelope, opened the parchment inside, and began to read, an almost touched look in his eyes.


	15. A Dead End

**Chapter 15: A Dead End**

"We're in for a long night…"

The group had stationed themselves on the widow's walk of Tristan's house, allowing them greater visibility of the mist-shrouded countryside. No clouds marred the inky sky above, and the moon bathed the scene below with faint radiance. Wolves howled all around the town.

Cen paced along the side of the walk, tapping the pommel of his sword with one finger, and Estel perched on the roof of the attic. At the front of the house, Tristan and Sapphire stood beside the brick rampart that stood in place of the more traditional railing. From their vantage point, they could see over Melmond's surrounding wall to the swampland beyond. All across the fetid landscape, humanoid figures staggered. Sapphire shivered, even though the air was warm, and Tristan shook his head.

"More and more keep finding their way out here, and we can't even manage to kill a tenth of the ones that make it to the city each night before they all wander off again." He sighed. "This is going to be a _very_ long night."

"What are we going to do?" Sapphire asked in a whisper.

Tristan sighed again and nodded. "Right. You, Sapphire, are on vampire duty. The form of the young vampires is such that we can't attack them directly, but Dia can destroy them. I'll start on lookout, as will Rath once he gets here. Cen and Estel will be in charge of melee fighting with the zombies. I'll jump in with them if I have to."

"Should I help with the zombies too?" Sapphire asked.

"Only if it's absolutely necessary. We're going to be neck-deep in these things, and I don't want you to end up running out of energy halfway through the night."

Sapphire blushed and shook her head, looking mortified at the very suggestion.

The attic door opened, and Rath emerged onto the walk. Cen and Estel both glanced at him, then at each other, snickering. Rath ignored them; he shut the door, then walked over and stood at the parapet beside Sapphire.

"I take it I have missed nothing of import."

Blush darkening, Sapphire shook her head again. "We were just talking about the plans for the night. You'll…Tristan says you'll mostly be doing lookout."

"…Very well." Rath looked out over the wall at the swamp, his eyes invisible in the pale moonlight. More shambling figures now dotted the landscape, slowly drawing nearer to the city.

Estel frowned out at the approaching swarm. "Hey, Tris—"

"Sh!" Tristan interrupted. "It's starting."

Against the front of the houses across from them, shadows moved, shadows without a form to cast them. Human in shape and inky black, a plume of sparks glowed at the center of each one. They slipped, soundless and eerie, along the stone.

Tristan crouched down and gestured for the others to do the same. "There."

Sapphire frowned in confusion. "Those? But they're just shadows…"

"They're fledgling vampires. So far we haven't been able to do much about them, but it would be better to get rid of them now, especially since there are probably far more of them than just the ones here."

The shadows hovered around windows, appearing to look inside the houses, before moving on, smearing something dark along the walls as they went. A low hum, almost inaudible, began to fill the air, but soon it grew to a piercing shriek, making the hair on the companions' necks stand up: the shadows were screaming, a high wailing like a gale at a broken window. Out in the swamp, the zombies' pace increased.

Sapphire, fighting the urge to clamp her hands over her ears, muttered something rapidly under her breath and held one hand aloft. It began to glow, the light radiating down into the street. As the light struck the shadows, they wavered and faded, the shrieking died, and the plumes of sparks went out. An echoing silence fell.

Tristan allowed himself a smile. "You have no idea how satisfying it is to watch that." He looked out over the wall and grew somber once more; even greater numbers of zombies swarmed over the swamps now.

The sound of footsteps came from the south end of the street. Cen straightened up at once, hand gripping his sword hilt, but then he stopped. He leaned out over the parapet and looked down the street.

"Um…Tris, I think we have a problem here…"

Tristan turned to see what his brother was looking at, then he swore under his breath. "Oh, gods. What are they doing?"

A group of men bearing torches marched down the street, led by a man in a dark cloak who was delivering some kind of speech. Phrases like "incompetent leadership" and "mastering the darkness" drifted up through the deadened air to the companions.

Tristan covered his eyes with one hand. "Oh, no. That idiot, he's going to get them all killed."

The group neared the house, and Tristan stood and called out to them.

"Naethor, what do you think you're doing?"

The black-cloaked man looked up, his narrow face twisting with derision as his gaze fell on Tristan. "Doing something _you_ won't. I'm facing this problem, instead of just telling everyone to hole up in their houses while you 'defend' them."

Some of the other men voiced their agreement, though a few did so only half-heartedly. Tristan gave an exasperated sigh.

"You think that a handful of men can face thousands of zombies in open combat and win? I refuse to believe you're all that deluded." He looked around at the other men. "Go back to your homes and defend your familes. It won't do you any good to heroically charge out only to get ripped to pieces."

Nearly all the men exchanged wary looks. Naethor remained unmoved, however. He started to retort, but a sharp gasp from Sapphire interrupted him. She grabbed Tristan's arm and pointed toward the north.

"Tristan!"

The first zombies had reached the city.

A handful of figures shuffled down the street, ragged and grey in the moonlight. Many bore injuries—torn flesh, broken bones, missing limbs—but shambled aimlessly onward nonetheless, milky eyes dull and staring. Some of the figures were very small.

"Oh…" Sapphire covered her mouth. "Children. There are _children_…"

"Nothing can be done for them," Rath said, his voice flat.

"I know, but…"

One of the zombies spotted the group standing in the street, and a horrible change came over him. He turned and started limping toward them, as his face twisted and his mouth fell open to unleash a guttural moan. At this sound, every other ghoul in the street swerved from their aimless courses to converge on the trembling men. Dozens of shuffling figures filled the street now, each adding a groan to the maddening chorus.

Up on the roof, Sapphire shuddered and covered her ears, Estel winced, and Cen's face took on a uniform, forced blankness. But somehow, below, Naethor thought he had everything well in hand. He seized a torch from one of the terrified men and approached the undead horde, brandishing the flaming brand before him.

"Naethor!" Tristan hissed. "Get away!"

But the man ignored him. "You have no power here, creatures of Chaos! Go back to the void that spawned you!"

The zombies paid no heed and just staggered steadily forward. The nearest ghoul seized Naethor's arm and dragged him forward. Naethor dropped his torch in surprise just as the zombie bent her head and sank her dirty, broken teeth into his shoulder.

Tristan swore again. "I knew it." He looked up at his brother. "Cen?"

Cen gave a stiff nod. "I'm on it." He vaulted over the rampart and landed crouched in the street by the men. "Get out of here!"

The men fled, hurling their torches at the horde as they ran, as Cen drew his longsword and faced the approaching ghouls. Estel jumped down beside him, saber already drawn.

The zombies surged around Naethor, some in spite of having been set aflame by the fleeing men. Naethor struggled to fight off his attackers, and Tristan began a spell to try to drive them away, but it was too late. One zombie gave a determined tug and ripped Naethor's arm from its socket. A grey-faced child seized his other hand and began biting off his fingers.

Sapphire started to scream, but Rath clapped his hand over her mouth. "Be quiet!" he hissed. "Do you want to draw them to the house?"

Wide-eyed, Sapphire shook her head, and Rath released her.

A cluster of ghouls formed around the dismembered Naethor, gorging on him, but the rest pressed on, and Cen and Estel, with rhythmic steadiness, began decapitating them as they drew near. Heads tumbled to the pavement, jaws still snapping. Dark slime and blood now slicked the ground, and more zombies pushed their way into the street. The burning ghouls began to set their fellows alight, and the sudden mob shoved against the houses. The flames raced up the walls. Inside, people began to scream.

"No!" Tristan jumped to his feet. "Rath, help me!" He extended a hand toward one of the fires, and a rush of freezing air shot forward, striking and extinguishing the flames. Rath rose and did the same, then directed the icy energy at the ghouls that had started toward the house, drawn by Tristan's shout. The figures halted in mid-stride, frozen solid.

Still, the zombies swarmed the street. Cen and Estel began to fall back.

Tristan moved to jump out over the parapet himself, but just then Sapphire rose, holding up her hand. White light poured down, and the zombies, oblivious, dissolved into dust where they stood. Cen's longsword quickly dispatched the few that remained.

An unpleasant silence fell, broken only by the muffled cries of frightened people in the surrounding houses, and faint shouts from another battle at the other side of the city. Cen, breathing hard, his face a rigid, emotionless mask, looked up at Tristan and the others on the roof.

"We have to do something about this."

Tristan sighed and nodded. "I know. Tomorrow, we'll all go out to Jord Cave and take care of this once and for all." He looked out over the wall, at the figures still staggering toward the city, and his posture stiffened.

"Here comes the next wave. Get ready."

* * *

They spent the rest of the night patrolling the walls of the town. The zombies continued to advance all night, falling back only when the sun began to rise. Tristan and the others returned home utterly exhausted, and Kirien ushered the weary warriors off to bed without comment.

Near one o'clock that afternoon, Tristan got up and woke the others, gathering them around the table in the dining room. They all still looked rather wilted, Cen worst of all. He had to prop his head up on his hands to keep it from drooping onto the table as Tristan spoke.

"These attacks have to stop. I know you're all tired, but we have to leave _today_; we know where to go, so we don't have any reason not to go as soon as possible. This city's been subjected to enough already."

Estel nodded. "No kiddin'. _I'm_ sick of it and I ain't even been here one day yet."

"To Jord Cave, then," Sapphire said. She yawned, then continued. "How far is it from here, Tristan?"

"If we go quickly—and I mean _very_ quickly—we can get there in somewhere between a week and a half and two weeks. The problem with that, though, is that we'll be leaving the town for all that time. I know my friends will be able to hold the defenses, but it'll be tough for them. Especially if things escalate while we're gone, which I strongly suspect they will."

"I doubt you need worry about that," Rath said. He looked over-tired as well, though not as much as Cen did. "We will leave the spell items from the _Charybdis_ with Kirien and the children, and with your associates. Those will provide some protection."

"You have spell items too?" Tristan gave a half-incredulous, half-relieved laugh. "It's like all my prayers are getting answered at once. All right, yes; that's a good idea. Let's take care of that, then get out of here as soon as possible."

It took a little over an hour to prepare everything for their journey. Rath, Sapphire, and Cen collected supplies and the spellcasting items from the _Charybdis_ and brought them back to Tristan's house. Tristan and Estel, meanwhile, picked up equipment in the city: enchanted silver bracers for Estel, Sapphire, and Rath, and a heavy iron shield for Cen. Cen then went to help Estel with packing up their gear, while Sapphire and Tristan brought some of the spell items out to Tristan's friends, and Rath took the remaining items and taught Kirien and Lexa how to use them. Only one minor delay stalled their progress: just as everything was finally ready, Rath disappeared for half an hour. He offered no explanation for this when he returned. The others did not press the matter, and as soon as they were all ready they started on their way, southwest along the coast toward the peninsula that housed Jord Cave.

Tristan led the group now, Rath and Cen close behind him, with Sapphire behind them and Estel taking up the rear. They stayed near the coast, as far away from the swamps and the ruins of the other towns as possible, but this did not speed their progress much; what looked like solid ground would collapse under their feet, leaving them wading through powdery sand. Neither did the distance do anything to dilute the mephitis of the rotting land. The summer sun blazed above, making the air hot, wet, and somehow heavy, so that everything sounded dead and muffled.

"Are we havin' fun yet?" Estel muttered to himself.

They continued on until well after sunset, and as they walked they could see the swamp off to their right start to come alive as the sky darkened: zombies crawled out of the water and slime and began to make their way toward Melmond. Cen gritted his teeth and looked away, but Tristan paused and watched them.

"Bizarre. Completely bizarre. We're close enough that they should be able to detect us, but…" He shook his head and started onward again. "I don't understand it."

"Let's just not talk about it," Cen said.

Tristan glanced back at his brother. "Not doing very well with all this, I guess."

Cen shook his head.

"Why?" Sapphire asked, moving forward a bit and looking concerned. "What's wrong, Cen?"

"It's nothing," Cen said, looking a bit embarrassed. He kept his gaze resolutely forward to avoid looking at the writhing wasteland. "I just don't like zombies much."

"Well, of course not. No one does."

Estel hurried forward and tapped Sapphire on the shoulder.

"Not like that," he whispered. "More like he's completely scared shitless of 'em."

Sapphire's eyes widened. "Oh…" She frowned and looked at Estel. "But, he dealt with them fine last night. I couldn't even tell—"

"Of course you couldn't," Cen said, glancing back with a frown of his own. "What good was it going to do if I froze up or panicked? It would've got people hurt and killed, so I just sat on it until later. That way I could actually pay attention to what I was supposed to be doing."

"I… Oh." Sapphire looked a bit sheepish, then she recovered. "So, like you told me to do, right? Facing things even if you're scared?"

Cen nodded and looked forward again. "Right. Like that."

The group went on for a while longer before they stopped for the night. They did not start a fire; the light might attract zombies, and they had scarcely any fuel for one anyway. After they had eaten, Tristan settled down to take the first watch while the others slept. Only Cen did not take advantage of this, and while Estel and Rath climbed into their bedrolls and Sapphire into her squashy red sleeping bag, he remained sitting up by his brother.

Once the others were asleep, their figures only vaguely defined by the pallid moonlight, Tristan looked over at Cen.

"You _are_ going to have to sleep at some point, nightmares or no nightmares."

Cen nodded. "Yeah, I know. I will."

"Good." Tristan fell silent, looking out over the swamp. He removed his hat, set it beside him, and absently ran his hand through his hair.

"I got a letter from Mother a few weeks ago," he said after a moment.

"Oh yeah? How is she?"

"Well enough. Still scared to death that something's going to happen to you or Estel, of course."

Cen rolled his eyes. "Of course."

"Don't do that. You know she means well."

"Yeah…" Cen shrugged and nodded. "Right."

A brief silence fell.

"Father's being considered for a promotion at the University," Tristan said. He did not look at Cen as he spoke, keeping his gaze out on the wasteland. "If he's approved, he'll be made a vice-president at the next convocation."

Cen barely managed to suppress a grimace. Tristan shrugged.

"I just thought you ought to know."

"Yeah, thanks," Cen muttered. He paused, then asked, "Did you write back?"

"Briefly. I couldn't bring myself to tell them about what's been happening here, though. Can you imagine what Mother would do if she heard?"

Cen nodded, then, after a moment of silence, dropped his forehead down to rest in his hand and started to chuckle. Tristan half-smiled in slight confusion.

"What's so funny?"

It took a moment for Cen to get control of himself. "I just got this picture in my head of Mother coming out here and facing off against all those zombies, and scolding them to death for scaring her little boys."

Tristan laughed. "Well, if anyone would do it…" He looked off across the swamp, then turned back to Cen. "You need to go to sleep, Cen."

Cen shook his head. "It's fine. I'd rather stay up and keep watch with you."

"Because real zombies are easier to kill than dream ones, right?" Tristan sighed. "You're making me feel horribly guilty now, you know."

"You shouldn't. It's not your fault."

"It's as good as my fault and you know it. Now come on." He nodded toward Cen's bedroll.

Cen opened his mouth to object, but then he stopped, sighed, and nodded. "Okay." He went over to his bedroll and started to get himself situated. "You know…" He looked at Tristan. "…sometimes, I wish I could just flip like Estel does when he gets like this. It'd kind of be a relief."

Tristan gave a faint smile. "Tell that to all the people whose lives you've saved by _not_ reacting like Estel does."

Cen was quiet for a moment.

"…Right. Good night, Tris."

"Good night."

* * *

As Tristan had predicted, it took the group about two weeks to reach Jord Cave. The journey went far from pleasantly, the earth becoming more and more deteriorated as they went along, so that at times they were wading through powdery sand nearly up to their knees. They took only short pauses to sleep, and even these were hardly restful, as Cen's nightmares were often extremely disrupting; more than once, Estel or Tristan caught a knee or fist in the ribs as Cen thrashed in his sleep. Rath appeared indifferent to this, but Sapphire was quite distressed by it, and upset she could do nothing to help.

Jord Cave lay in the center of a triangular peninsula called the Devil's Tail, accessible from the mainland via a narrow isthmus. The Jord Mountains, which housed the cavern, made up most of the peninsula, with a wide mountain valley in the midst of them. This had once been lush, beautiful country, but the companions arrived to find it a vile expanse of sludge, stagnant water, and quicksand. The terrific stench coming off it made the companions' eyes water.

"Get used to it," Tristan said. "It will probably smell even worse inside the cave."

With no solid ground to speak of, the land between the mountains proved laborious to traverse. It took the group an entire day to travel the few miles from the edge of the valley to the base of the avalanche-scarred mountain where the entrance to Jord Cave lay.

Though the surroundings were unpleasantly similar, Jord Cave appeared far different from the Marsh Cave of Elfheim. While Marsh Cave had merely been a hole in the ground, a grand, elaborately carved archway surrounded the entrance to Jord Cave in the side of the mountain. The fine stonework had begun to fade and melt, however, and an inscription on the arch, while it could still be faintly seen, could no longer be read.

Estel stood and stared at the dark opening, his arms folded and his eyes narrowed. Sapphire watched him with concern, and Cen gave him a wary look.

"Estel…"

"I'm fine," Estel said, making a valiant attempt to sound offhand.

"Are you—"

"Fine!" Estel repeated with a bizarre, forced airiness. "Just fine! Look, see?" He started toward the cave, then stopped and looked back at the others. "See? Fine. Come on, guys, no point just standin' around, huh?"

Cen, Sapphire, and Tristan exchanged glances, but Rath just looked faintly exasperated and went forward into the cave, conjuring a puffball flame as he went. After a moment, the others followed him into the darkness. Estel came last, just after Cen, but he checked abruptly on the threshold, teetering a bit as he stared down the soft, crumbly stairway that led beneath the mountain. The color started to trickle out of his face.

Realizing Estel was no longer behind him, Cen stopped and looked back.

"Estel?"

Estel did not answer. Sapphire and Tristan paused and turned back as well to see what was going on. Sapphire gave a quiet, "oh" and covered her mouth with one hand.

"You can't try to stay behind this time," Cen said. "This is Light Warrior stuff."

Estel forced himself to nod.

"Then come on."

"I'm trying!" Estel wailed, sounding suddenly on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, I'm trying, but my feet won't move!"

"Oh, Estel…" Sapphire went back up the stairs to him. "Here, let me help you."

She reached out and took his hand, and he clung to her as though she was a lifeline. She took a couple of steps downward, pulling gently on Estel's arm, but he did not move; he just continued to stare, wide-eyed, down the passageway. Brow creased with concern, Sapphire tried again.

"Come on, Estel, you can do it."

A tense moment passed, then Estel swallowed hard and began to follow Sapphire as she led him down the stairs. Cen and Tristan sighed in relief, and the group continued.

The stairway went on for only a short distance before reaching the first cavern, a roughly square area with tunnels branching off in four directions. What must once have been columns lining the cave now looked like half-melted candles, drooping and sagging toward the ground. Thick, glutinous slime covered the floor and made an unpleasant squelching noise when stepped in. Drippings from the stagnant swamp above streaked the walls, the dark stains interspersed with patches of mold. The thick, cloying scent of rot and mildew hung in the air.

Estel retained his tight grip on Sapphire's hand as he looked around.

"Don't think there's anything livin' down here, huh?"

"I believe," Rath said lightly, eyes glinting in the light from his flame, "it can be safely said there is nothing _living_ in these caverns."

Estel shuddered. "Don't say it like that; you just make it sound worse."

"Where now, Tris?" Cen asked, raising his voice to cut off whatever retort Rath might have offered. "Somewhere here, or farther down?"

Tristan, who had been looking around with an almost sorrowful expression, came out of a reverie as his brother spoke.

"Hm? Oh, we need to head farther down. The Earth Crystal is at the very bottom, so I'm guessing that's where the vampire is as well."

"Why's it always at the _bottom_?" Estel groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

Sapphire gave his hand a reassuring pat, then called up a marshlight and started after Tristan as he moved down one of the tunnels.

Another set of stairs led down to the next level, which seemed to consist of a series of small, open caverns connected by narrow passages. The companions stopped in the first chamber to allow Tristan to get his bearings and to let Estel calm down a little.

"This place is kind of like a labyrinth," Tristan said, looking around. "Luckily, I've been here before, and I'm pretty sure the way down is southeast of here. Come on."

Even though each slime-coated chamber looked almost identical, Tristan led the group steadily onward, only faltering once or twice, and then only for a moment or two. Estel became more agitated as they went along, jumping at small noises and clinging to Sapphire as though his very life depended on it. Sapphire held his hand tighter.

Finally, they reached the steeply sloping tunnel that led deeper into the cave. According to Tristan, the next series of caverns formed a circular pattern, and they would reach their destination if they just kept to the left.

"So, what'll we do when we find the vampire, Tris?" Cen asked as the group made its way down the passage.

"I think this will be a magic job. No offense," Tristan added, glancing back over his shoulder at his brother. "But I think that would be the best way to get it over with fast, before the vampire has time to summon reinforcements and trap us down here."

Estel gave a pained half-groan, half-whimper. "Don't _say_ that…"

"Ah." Tristan winced. "I'm sorry, Estel."

The next level was far more vast than the previous ones had been. Where the others had low, flat ceilings, this had towering arches that stretched beyond the reach of the companions' small lights. Up in the darkness, the fluttering of wings could be heard.

"Just bats," Tristan said, but he sounded uneasy. "Keep moving, and be quiet."

They moved along as quickly as they dared, trying to make as little noise as possible in spite of the omnipresent slime that clung to their feet. Tristan led the way through the tall rooms, bearing a small flame of his own before him; Cen plodded along beside him, followed closely by Sapphire and Estel, with Rath taking up the rear. The rustling above them grew louder as they progressed.

"Tristan," Estel said, voice shaking slightly as he glanced upward, "I don't think those're bats…"

At that moment, something gave a screeching cry and swooped down at the companions. As it entered the firelight they could see it was a large, grey-feathered bird, its talons bared as it descended, shrieking, toward them. Estel cried out and jerked backwards out of the bird's path, half-dragging Sapphire with him. The bird's talons gouged the ground where he had been standing. The bird wheeled around for another attack, and two others joined with it.

Cen and Tristan drew their swords, staring up at the circling birds, while Rath, holding his staff up defensively, began murmuring an incantation under his breath. Estel, shaking and white-faced, backed away until he struck the cavern wall, Sapphire still beside him. She held her hammer awkwardly in one hand.

As the birds dove again, a bolt of lightning shot from Rath's hand and struck one of them; it plummeted to the slimy ground, smoking and twitching. The other two birds wheeled away from him, screeching, and instead made for the easiest targets: Sapphire and Estel. Sapphire managed to knock one away with a weak, one-handed swing, but the other, attacking from the side, struck Estel and knocked him to the ground, jerking his hand free from Sapphire's. He did not get up.

Cen caught one of the birds as it circled away, stabbing it out of the air and flinging it to the ground to bleed to death. The last bird screeched and veered away, flying at Sapphire again, only to catch her hammer right in the beak. It tumbled down, and Sapphire hit it again as it struck the ground, finishing it.

The rustling above quieted immediately.

Tristan sheathed his sword. "Cockatrices," he said with a grimace, glancing at the bird Cen had felled.

"Estel, are you okay?" Cen hurried over to his friend, who still lay half-curled on the ground. He reached out and shook Estel's shoulder, then recoiled in alarm. "What'd it do to him?" he gasped.

Tristan knelt down beside Estel's body and shook it just as Cen had. He cursed under his breath. "He's been petrified."

"What?" Sapphire hurried over and dropped down beside Tristan. "How?"

"It was when that cockatrice struck him; they have the power to turn people to stone." Tristan shook his head, distressed. "This is bad. I didn't even _think_ to bring gold needles along. What's wrong with me?"

Cen's expression went blank as his brother spoke, and he stared down at Estel's stone body, unsure how to react. Sapphire, on the other hand, gasped and clapped her hands to her mouth.

"Oh, that's it!" She dropped her hands from her face and immediately pulled off her pack and began rummaging through it. After a moment's frantic search, she pulled out a long, golden needle. She beamed in triumph. "Here. We had some on the ship, and I didn't know if they'd be useful here, but I grabbed them just in case."

"Perfect," Tristan said, breathing a sigh of relief. "You're a real gem, Sapphire."

Sapphire bent over Estel's body and pressed the needle into the back of his neck. The needle easily penetrated the stone, and Sapphire slid it all the way in, then sat back.

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then a nearly imperceptible tremor ran through Estel, and the stony covering dissolved to dust and fell away. Estel jerked upright, gasping for breath.

"Wh—what? What happened?"

"The cockatrice," Cen said, looking hugely relieved to see Estel back to normal. "When it attacked you, it turned you to stone."

"Stone?" Estel's eyes went very round, and he rapidly felt across his face and chest, as though to make sure he had been completely cured.

Tristan gave Estel's shoulder a reassuring shake. "Don't worry, you're fine now. You're just lucky Sapphire thought to bring gold needles along; otherwise you would have been stuck down here like that while we went back to Melmond to get some."

"I would've…" Estel trailed off in horror, his face going the color of chalk. He remained still for a moment, his body rigid, then he seized Sapphire in a tight hug. Sapphire gave a yelp of surprise.

"Estel…!"

"Thank you," Estel said, his voice shaking slightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, _thank you_…"

Sapphire blinked a few times, looking thoroughly astonished, then she hugged Estel back. "You're welcome."

Unable to help himself, Cen gave a snort of laughter. "You're never going to get him off you now, you know."

"While this is all _truly_ touching," Rath said, standing a few feet away and watching with slight disgust, "I suggest we resume our course. As much as Estel no doubt enjoys this coddling, we have more important things to attend to."

Estel, still very rattled, did not respond to this, but Cen bristled.

"Okay, you, I've had just about enough—"

He started toward Rath, but Tristan jumped up and put himself between them.

"None of that, Cen," he said sternly.

Cen gaped. "But, Tris—!"

"'But' nothing. You don't go around beating up your teammates. Even if they _do_ deserve it." Tristan turned to Rath. "That was out of line. You know what Estel's problem is, and you have no right to have a dig at him about it. It's needlessly cruel, and I won't tolerate that kind of behavior, especially when my brothers are concerned. Either start being polite, or keep your mouth shut."

Rath stared at Tristan for a moment with an odd mixture of surprise and annoyance. Rather than attempting to argue or justify his behavior, however, he just made an irritated noise, waved a dismissive hand at the group, and walked away. He stopped after a short distance and stood with his back to the others.

Cen's vindicated smirk slid off his face as Tristan turned to him.

"And you can stop that, too. By the gods, Cen, you're a grown man; please stop acting like you're ten years old. I don't want to have to be the team baby-sitter."

Cen opened his mouth to protest, but then he stopped and sighed.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Sorry."

"Thank you."

Tristan stepped over to Estel and Sapphire and knelt down beside them. Sapphire looked quite startled by the exchange between the three men and seemed torn between guilt at Rath's admonition and offense on Estel's behalf. Tristan gave her an encouraging sort of look before turning his attention to the trembling young man in her arms.

"Estel? Are you going to need another minute, or can we get going again?"

Estel looked around the massive, dark cavern, gaze sweeping the ceiling in particular, and then he screwed his eyes shut.

"Couldn't we just…leave and try again later? Please?"

"We should just take care of it now. Wouldn't it be better to just do that, so you won't have to worry about going in again later?"

Estel thought about this, or at least tried to. Finally, however, he nodded.

Tristan smiled. "Good man. Okay, let's keep going."

With some effort, Sapphire got Estel to release her, then she got to her feet and helped him up. He staggered a bit before getting his balance back, and he kept hold of Sapphire's hand as the group set off again through the dank, yawning caverns. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I think you're doing really well," she whispered. "Rath just…he's very focused on our task, so…"

Estel mumbled something. Sapphire frowned, trying without success to make out what he had said. Undeterred, she continued speaking.

"I know you're trying very hard, and that this isn't easy for you at all, and…" She paused, thinking. "And…I'm proud of you for trying."

Estel actually perked up a tiny bit.

"Thanks," he murmured.

This brief bout of composure deteriorated quickly as they went along. The group went at a slower pace, moving quietly to keep from rousing any of the cave's other denizens. Their small lights startled nothing worse than bats and large spiders, though even these caused Estel to jump and cringe. Gradually, however, faint echoes began to reverberate off the walls, coming from an unknown source. As the group entered a long, narrow tunnel, the companions' shadows, split and multiplied by their many lights, became interspersed with other shadows. Shadows with plumes of sparks at their centers.

Cen, who had been looking around as he walked, stopped doing so as he noticed this, and his hand went to his sword hilt. Estel snapped his eyes shut and clung to Sapphire's arm with both hands.

At the end of the passageway, a thick metal door halted their progress. Tristan stared at it in bafflement, frowning.

"I don't remember this being here…" He put his hand to the cold metal, and it gave a bit under his touch, swinging backward into the chamber beyond. He withdrew his hand and looked back at the others. "I don't like this. Rath, Sapphire, be ready to attack, on my signal."

He turned back and pushed open the door.

The chamber was small, though a number of sturdy wooden chests and boxes lined the walls. Also along the walls hovered dozens upon dozens of shadows, plumes of sparks burning within them. They wavered and flickered as the companions entered and looked around. In the center of the room stood the tall figure of the vampire, his head tilted grotesquely to one side, his hair lank and matted with earth, and his face sallow and sunken. He stared blankly at the companions.

Cen made to draw his sword, but Tristan gestured for him to stop. The vampire grinned manically at them, his jagged teeth crusted with dried blood.

"I've been expecting you," he said, his voice gravelly, coming from a mouth and throat now decaying and poorly suited for speech. "_We've_ been expecting you."

The shadows along the walls shifted and darkened.

The vampire clicked its teeth and spoke again. "You cannot stop this. All things in this world are destined to end in death."

"Did you rehearse this before we showed up, or what?" Cen asked, hand tightening on his sword hilt.

The vampire stared at him, eyes blank and milky. Cen's expression hardened and he gritted his teeth. The vampired grinned.

"I am here to stop you. You cannot break the seal, and so the earth shall _rot_."

Cen forced a laugh. "Was that supposed to make sense? Fight, don't talk."

"You are fools," the vampire said. "Mere mortals cannot kill the undying!" He lunged at them, teeth bared, and the shadows along the walls began shrieking.

"Now!" Tristan bellowed.

He extended his hand, and fire streamed from his palm and struck the vampire in the chest, knocking the creature backwards and setting it aflame. Before it could recover, Rath stepped forward; a ball of fire formed between his outstretched hands, and he flung it at the vampire. It hit the ground at the vampire's feet, and moments later a pillar of flame erupted beneath the creature and flung it back further, now a boiling ball of fire instead of a body.

Pure white light flooded the room as Sapphire, standing with the terrified Estel by the doorway, lifted her free hand and cast her spell. The shadows along the wall gave pitiful wails and vanished, and what remained of the vampire dissolved into a pile of smoldering ash.

Tristan stepped forward, scanning the room with narrowed eyes.

"Okay," he said. "It looks like we got everything." He frowned, looking perplexed. "But this doesn't make sense. This isn't the bottom of the cave. The Earth Crystal is two levels down from here."

"Yeah, there's nothing really crystal-like in here," Cen said, joining his brother in the center of the small chamber. "Lots of boxes, though…" He looked around at these for a moment, then turned to the door. "Hey, Estel—"

Estel, however, seemed to be desperately fighting off a panic attack, shaking from head to foot and only remaining upright because of his vise-like grip on Sapphire's arm. Sapphire, a pained expression on her face, had her free hand around one of his as she whispered reassurances that they were _not_ surrounded and trapped in an attempt to calm him down. Cen sighed.

"Well, _somebody's_ got to play tomb raider." He walked over to the nearest box and started prying it open.

"It seems our hypothesis was incorrect," Rath said, scanning the room from beneath his hat. "Were the vampire the source of the earth rot, we would have found him in the Crystal chamber, correct?"

Tristan nodded. "Right. He would have been corrupting the Altar itself." He shook his head. "This was wrong. This was a set-up. That was just a regular vampire; he fell too easily to be anything else. Whatever is corrupting the Earth Crystal is still down here somewhere."

"And likely none too pleased we destroyed its servant," Rath noted delicately.

A rather nasty silence fell, but after only a moment a loud oath from Cen broke it.

Tristan looked at his brother in astonishment. "Cen, language!"

"Sorry. But you have to look at this!" Cen straightened up from where he crouched beside a box, and he lifted something up for the others to see: a gigantic star ruby, so large that he had to use both hands to hold it. "Can you believe that? That's the biggest jewel I've ever seen in my life!"

He looked over at the doorway, where Estel was finally calming down and responding to Sapphire's help, then made his way over to his two companions.

"Hey, Estel. Open your eyes, I found something you're going to like."

Estel muttered something about only liking to be somewhere else, thanks so very much, but Cen persisted.

"Estel, it's a ruby the size of your head."

This actually got through. Estel opened one eye, then the other, and blinked at the gemstone in Cen's hands.

"Mine?" he asked hopefully after a couple of seconds.

"Yeah," Cen said. "All yours. And when we get back to Melmond, you can sell it for like a million gil, and then go get so drunk that you won't even remember what Jord Cave is anymore."

Estel appeared to approve of this idea, particularly the getting drunk part, and though he did not release Sapphire's arm, his grip did ease a tiny bit. Cen tucked the ruby into Estel's pack.

"There you go."

"Well, at least we got paid well for this," Tristan said, looking half-amused. He looked around the chamber again, then gestured for the others to follow him. "Come on. We need to find out what's really going on here."

They passed through an opening at the back of the chamber, beyond which lay a narrow, twisting passage. At the end of this, Tristan stopped short. Set in the floor was a massive, grey stone slab, crudely carved runes and symbols covering its surface.

Tristan frowned at the slab. "This isn't right. There should be a stairway here."

Rath stepped forward to examine the stone. As soon as he got near it, however, he jerked backwards, inhaling sharply.

"There are incredibly powerful wards on this stone. Whoever set it here did not intend for it to be moved."

"Then this must be the seal." Tristan sighed. "Blast and double blast."

"Is there any way we can move it?" Sapphire asked.

Cen and Tristan together attempted to shift the stone, even using Rath's staff as a lever, but to no avail. The slab would not budge. Cen slumped, panting, against the wall.

"Nothing doing," he said. "We'll have to find another way down."

"There _is_ no other way down," Tristan said, removing his hat and wiping his brow. "We're stuck, I'm afraid. Let's get back to the surface."

Estel gave an audible sigh of relief, and he let his head droop against Sapphire's shoulder. Sapphire patted his hand.

"We're giving up?" Cen said, giving his brother a perplexed look.

Tristan shook his head. "No, but sitting down here brooding won't do us any good. Besides, I think I know someone who can help us."

* * *

_"They're drawing very near now."_

_ "Hm? Oh, yes, we've been tracking them as well. Have they bothered you yet?"_

_ "They destroyed my servant. Regrettable, but I expected it. It was only a maggot's shell, after all."_

_ "Will they be able to reach you?"_

_ "We would hate for anything to happen to you, little brother."_

_ "They may. My wards are strong, but not unbreakable. I am still weak from my interment."_

_ "I don't think they will prove much trouble even if they should reach you."_

_ "Ooh, yes, have you heard them? Heehee, they squabble like children!"_

_ "I did notice that. And don't giggle; it's unbecoming for those of our stature."_

_ "Now, now, we mustn't stoop to their level."_

_ "Yes, of course. My apologies."_

_ "Same."_

_ "…It really is pathetic. These four are the best champions the usurpers could muster to face us?"_

_ "I _know_! It's as though they hardly know us at all!"_

_ "Insulting. We must…offer them a gentle reminder."_


	16. Don't Fear The Reaper

**Chapter 16: Don't Fear the Reaper**

"_Another_ cave?!"

After leaving Jord Cave, Tristan had led the group from the peninsula and through a pass a few days farther south on the main continent. Now they stood in front of the entrance to yet another cavern. Estel was not amused, and this time, it seemed no amount of cajoling or bribery would aid matters.

"No! I'm not doin' it! I'm _sick_ of all this cave bullshit! It's bad enough we gotta go back into that last one, but I'm not doin' this too! I don't care where the hell we're goin' this time! Count me out!"

And he refused to go another step.

Rath, as ever, found the delay extremely irritating, but for once he had the tact to keep silent on the matter. He stood off to the side of the cavern's opening, leaning against his staff, his eyes narrowed. Sapphire stood beside him, clutching her own staff and frowning in concern as she watched Cen trying to persuade Estel.

"It's not even a _cave_; it's a tunnel, we go in this way and come straight out the other side. Tristan said we'd get through it in about ten minutes. Come on…"

"No."

"Ten minutes!"

"I don't care."

Cen gave an exasperated sigh. "Estel, stop it. You're being ridiculous."

"I am _not_!" Estel exploded. "I'm not gonna do this anymore! I just end up lookin' like an idiot, and bein' useless, and Rath makes fun of me, and I hate it!"

"Yeah, but it gets Sapphire to hold your hand and hug you and tell you how proud she is of you," Cen pointed out, lowering his voice. "What about that?"

"That…it…I don't…dammit, Cen, that's not fair! You can't say things like that!"

"Says who? Estel, come on. When we're done with all this, you can rant and scream all you want, and you will never have to go in another cave ever again, I promise. But can we just get going now? The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get back to Melmond and get too drunk to stand up."

After a good deal more prodding, wheedling, and promises of copious amounts of alcohol, Estel reluctantly agreed to continue. Tristan led the way into the cavern, but after just a few minutes he stopped short.

"Oh."

The narrow passageway ahead of them had been blocked by something. At first glance, it looked like a pile of boulders, but a closer look revealed that it was a humanoid creature seemingly composed completely of rocks, its pebble-like eyes peering through the gloom at the companions.

"What is it?" Sapphire asked.

"A stone giant," Tristan said, looking puzzled. "This is odd; they're usually very reclusive. The earth rot must be driving them out of their usual homes."

"So how do we get past it?" Cen said, frowning.

Tristan did not reply, instead striding forward toward the giant. The giant shuffled, then stood to its full height: nearly twelve feet tall. It stared down at the red-cloaked mage standing before it.

"You not pass," it rumbled; its voice sounded like boulders rubbing together.

"We must pass," Tristan said calmly.

"You pay toll, or you not pass."

"What's the toll?"

The giant rumbled again. "Gems. Bring gems and I let you pass."

Tristan sighed, turned, and went back to the others. Estel, already knowing what was coming, clutched his pack protectively, watching Tristan with wary eyes.

"Estel," Tristan said, trying to sound as inoffensive as possible, "I'm going to need your ruby."

A sullen frown crossed Estel's face. "But it's _mine_…"

"I know, Estel, and I'm very sorry, but this is important."

"Come on," Cen muttered. "You can just get it back on the way out, right?"

Estel considered this, then, looking thoroughly put-upon, he removed the ruby from his pack and handed it to Tristan.

Tristan nodded. "Thanks." He gave Estel an encouraging smile before turning back to the giant. "Will this do?"

The giant did something that could only be described as grinning. "That good. Will pay toll here and back. Star ruby best gem." Then it took the ruby from Tristan, and popped it into its mouth as though the gem was nothing more than a grape. "Taste best. You pass now."

Very luckily, Cen managed to get his hand over Estel's mouth before Estel could say anything. Judging by the look on Estel's face, whatever he had been about to say would no doubt have gotten them into a lot of trouble. Cen kept him restrained until the companions had passed the giant and exited the tunnel.

"He _ate it_!" Estel shrieked as soon as Cen let go. "It was _mine_, and he _ate it_!"

"Estel, I'm so sorry," Tristan said, and he looked it. "I really am, but we didn't have a choice."

"I had no idea he would do that," Cen added.

"I don't wanna hear it! Just…just shut up! Go away! You're all bastards!"

Estel stormed off.

"Oh…" Sapphire watched him go. "I didn't…I never thought that would upset him so much."

"He's been having a bad few days," Tristan said. "And it all just piled up on him. I guessed he was going to do something like that sooner or later."

Cen nodded. "It's happened before."

Sapphire did not look reassured. "Is there anything we can do…?"

"Leaving him alone would be the best thing right now." Tristan started walking, following the path Estel had taken, and the others followed. "He'll sulk for a while, but he should be all right by the time we get to where we're headed."

"You never did mention _whom_ we are visiting," Rath remarked.

"A sage," Tristan said. "His name is Sadda. He's a hermit who's lived out here as long as anyone in Melmond can remember."

Sapphire blinked. "Oh, I've heard of him! He's a friend of Lukahn's, isn't he?"

"Of course. All the sages are well known to one another."

It did not take long to catch up with Estel, and as Tristan predicted, he sulked and fumed for the rest of the day, ignoring the others almost entirely. The next day, his temper had subsided to a dull sullenness, and he stopped pretending his companions did not exist. After only a short trek, the group reached Sadda's home.

It was a cave. Fortunately, and much to the relief of the company, Estel did not react nearly as badly to this cave as he had to the last. Perhaps the presence of a door—complete with knocker and bell-pull—alleviated his misgivings.

"Why would he have a doorbell if he's a hermit?" Cen whispered to his brother.

Tristan grinned. "Maybe he knew we were coming, and put it up for our benefit." He stepped forward and rang the bell. A gong-like sound emanated from somewhere inside the cave.

A few moments later, a grey-bearded man wearing dark green robes opened the door. He smiled when he saw the companions.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd get here!" he said, beaming. "Please, come in!" He ushered the bewildered companions inside the homey cave, the floors tiled and red-shaded lamps hanging from the ceiling.

"No need to give your names," Sadda said as he led them along the winding passageway. "I know them well already. And you all know mine, so I shall not waste your time by giving you old information. There are far more important things at hand, as you also already know. Ah, here we are!"

They had arrived at another door, which Sadda now opened to reveal a small, comfortable room furnished with a table, a few chairs, and a bed. A fire crackled merrily in the fireplace at the far wall.

"You are not planning on staying long, but I shall invite you to sit, in any case." Sadda took his own invitation and seated himself on a small stool. The others sat on the chairs around him. He beamed at them.

"No need to say anything," he said as Tristan opened his mouth to speak. "You are here about the Earth Crystal. I am more than willing to help you, of course, but I would first like to offer my congratulations on defeating the vampire. An impressive bit of spellcasting, that."

Sapphire blinked in astonishment. "How…?"

Sadda winked at her. "The earth tells many tales, Priestess. You couldn't expect it to keep something that momentous a secret, could you? But now to the business at hand!" He leaned forward and rubbed his hands together, as though he had been anticipating this for a long time. "The vampire, as you have already learned, was but a servant of a greater power and not the cause of the corruption of the Earth Crystal. The beast who claims that ability lurks far deeper within Jord Cave."

"Yes, but—" Cen began.

"But the way down is blocked," Sadda finished for him. "Yes, I know. The Fiend of Earth has barred your way. He fears for his safety, you see. He is newly awoken from his ancient slumber and wishes to protect his new kingdom at all costs. When you face the Fiends of Water and Wind, you will find they set up no such defenses for themselves; they feel they are secure in their power."

Sapphire frowned. "Fiends?"

Sadda nodded, and a slightly distant look came into his eyes. "Creatures of great power. As old as the gods, they have lain buried in the earth for thousands of years, hating this world and all that dwell on it. Now, their time has come. First Wind, then Water…and now Earth has fallen to them, and Fire will follow if you do not stop them. The world will be left as a blackened husk in their wake." He shook his head, and his eyes went back to normal. "That," he said, "is the task the gods have set for you. Destroy the Fiends. Light the Crystals."

"But how can we get past the seal?" Estel asked, speaking rapidly to prevent Sadda from finishing his sentence.

"By using this!" Sadda picked up a dark grey stone rod that had been leaning against the fireplace and held it out to them. "I took this from the Earth Shrine years ago, before it was corrupted by the Fiend. It still holds the pure power of Earth, and so it will break the impure seal and grant you access to the lower levels of Jord Cave." He handed the rod to Sapphire, inclining his head to her. "I entrust this to you, Priestess. Only the bearer of the shard of the Earth Crystal can clear the way onward."

Sapphire looked a bit startled, but she still reached out and took the rod.

"Thank you…"

Sadda gave a short laugh. "It is I who should be thanking you! I am merely a pawn in this game; you are the ones who are to decide the fate of the world. Now, you mustn't tarry any longer. The earth continues to rot, and the undead continue to walk these lands."

The companions nodded, Tristan in particular looking very grave. They rose from their seats, and Sadda escorted them to the door of his home. He bowed as he bade them farewell, placing his hand on his breast and inclining his head.

"Restore the Crystals to grace."

* * *

It took only a few days to pass back through the giant's cave and return to the narrow strip of land that led to the Devil's Tail. Tristan remained rather quiet and pensive during the trek, and when the companions stopped to camp at the start of the isthmus, he called a group conference.

"I won't be accompanying you to Jord Cave."

Sapphire gaped. "But we'll be lost in there without you!"

Tristan shook his head. "You'll be fine; I've told Cen how to get through the last two levels. It won't be difficult, I promise."

Sapphire did not look reassured. "Why aren't you coming with us?"

"I need to return to Melmond." Tristan sighed and stared off toward the north. "I don't feel right, leaving Kirien and the children alone for so long. Sadda was right; the undead are still attacking, and the spell items you left won't last forever. If something happened to them because I got back too late…" He trailed off, looking troubled.

Cen's expression mirrored his brother's, and he glanced over at Estel, who nodded, looking somber. Rath stared off northward as well, the look in his eyes distant and solemn. Sapphire bit her lip and dropped her gaze to her lap.

"We understand. We'll…I guess we'll be all right."

"Yeah, of course we will," Cen said. "I told you, don't worry about it, Tris. Let the Light Warriors do the Light Warrior stuff; you just go take care of things at home."

Tristan gave a half-hearted smile. "I knew you'd all understand. This has been bothering me a lot the last few days."

Estel nodded. "Yeah, we figured."

"And don't any of you worry either," Tristan said, looking particularly at Estel and Sapphire. "You'll be fine."

There was a brief silence.

"Tristan…" Cen frowned. "Do you have any idea what this Fiend of Earth could be?" His brow was furrowed, and he fingered the hilt of his sword.

Tristan shook his head. "I don't. Although, judging by the other creatures that have been appearing lately, I would hazard a guess that it's undead as well. That's just a guess, though; I could be completely wrong."

Sapphire shifted uncomfortably, fiddling with her sleeves for a moment before fetching her pack and pulling her shard of crystal from it. It glistened a bit, looking faintly golden in the moonlight, but the light did not penetrate it, and the center remained dark and dead-looking. Sapphire turned it over, and her fingers trembled.

"You okay?" Estel asked, watching her with concern.

Sapphire nodded. "Yes. I'm just…" She trailed off. "I'm thinking about what we have to do…and what Sadda said, about the Fiends." She paused, turning the shard over and over, keeping her hands moving so no one could see them shake. "This isn't really what I expected."

Cen and Estel muttered their agreement to this, but Rath, lost in thought, said nothing. Tristan glanced up at the sky.

"It's getting late. Let's try to get as much sleep as possible; we all have long journeys ahead of us."

The companions settled down to sleep. However, though the rotation of watches took place as usual, Rath remained awake all night, staring northward.

* * *

The next day they arose with the sun. Tristan bade them farewell, wishing them the best of luck.

"You stay safe, Tris," Cen said as he embraced his brother. At that moment, for all their dissimilarities, the pair looked startlingly alike. "When we get back, you'd better be waiting for us at the gate."

"You know I will be," Tristan replied with a smile. He looked around at the others. "Don't worry; you can get through this. It will be difficult, but from what I've seen so far, I know you'll do well." He smiled at them once more, then turned and strode off north. He half-turned as he went and waved back at them. "Good luck!"

With great trepidation, the Light Warriors began their final approach to Jord Cave. Cen trudged along in the lead, followed by Sapphire bearing the earth rod, then by Rath, lost in whatever dark mood had taken him, and finally by Estel.

They reached Jord Cave after only a few days of travel, wading first through the powdery sand and then the thick, dark sludge of the swamp between the arms of the mountains. A few zombies milled around the cavern entrance when the companions arrived, but Sapphire dispatched them before they even noticed the group's approach.

Cen, whose hand had gone to his sword hilt as soon as he had seen the ghouls, relaxed as they dissolved to dust.

"I don't think we've thanked you enough lately, Sapphire."

Sapphire gave a small, faint smile. "It's all right. I'm just doing what I can." She looked at the cave entrance. "Let's hope it's not like that inside…"

It turned out to be quite a lot like that inside. Once they entered—which took some time, with Cen having to practically carry Estel in—groups of undead assailed them all through the first three levels of the cave. Fortunately, there were never many of them at once, and Cen and Sapphire could dispatch them quickly. The cockatrices at least did not disturb them as they passed through the third level, and so the companions came back at last to the seal behind the vampire's chamber.

"What do I do?" Sapphire asked, looking from the earth rod to the seal with a slightly puzzled look on her face.

Cen shrugged. "Just touch the rod to the stone, I guess."

Sapphire looked at the rod again, then lightly touched the tip to the stone slab. With a tremendous _crack_ that loosened dust from the ceiling, the stone and the rod both shattered, showering the companions with debris. Where the slab had been, a broad staircase now descended into complete darkness. Air, cool but foul-smelling, wafted from the opening.

Cen exhaled slowly. "Well. All right, then. That's taken care of." He looked around at the others. "Are we ready to keep going?"

After taking amoment to recover from the explosion, Estel and Sapphire both nodded. Cen took that as answer enough, not bothering to try to get any sort of response out of Rath.

"Okay then. Let's go." He led the way down the stairs.

The companions had a quick glimpse of a small, empty chamber, but as they stepped down from the stairs, their marshlight went out, plunging the group into pitch blackness. Sapphire tried in vain to relight it.

"What's going on?" she asked, sounding both frustrated and a bit anxious. "Cen, why can't I make this work?"

"It's okay," Cen said. "Tristan said this would happen; lights always go out on this level, even regular ones. There should be—"

"No," Estel said, his voice tense and sharp in the darkness. "We're leaving."

Cen swore under his breath. "Estel—"

"We're _leaving_!"

There came the sound of Estel, breathing hard and fast, stumbling back up the stairs. Cen swore again.

"Fine. Everyone out of here, we need to fix this."

Amidst much slipping and bumping into one another, the group returned to the narrow passage above. Once Sapphire had her footing back, she conjured a handful of marshlights, enough to make the tunnel nearly as bright as daylight. Estel paced jerkily around the passage, his face contorted in anger, fear, and shame. He seemed to be having to force himself to breathe normally. Cen, frowning, approached him.

"Estel, what are you doing?"

"I can't do this," Estel said, voice still strained. His eyes went to the stairway, and he shook his head, hard. "I can't. It's…no, they got it wrong. It's all wrong. I shouldn't be the one down here doin' this. I _can't_ do this."

"You have to. There isn't a choice this time; we have to go through there. We can't call off fixing all this just because you're scared of being stuck in the dark."

Estel rounded on Cen, looking suddenly furious. "I _know_! You think I don't know?! We _have_ to, and I hate it! I'm sick of it! I'm about two seconds away from just curlin' up and bawlin' because of all this shit, and I _can't deal with it anymore_! I'm not gonna do this!"

Cen's expression hardened. "Yeah, you are."

"_I'm not_!"

"You don't have a choice!"

"Estel…"

Sapphire spoke up, her voice tremulous and quiet in the face of Estel's outburst. Estel looked at her, and for a moment the shame and embarrassment came to the forefront in his eyes. He looked away, and he did not attempt to interrupt or retort as Sapphire continued talking.

"Estel, please… I know how difficult this must be for you, but…we need you to be there with us. If you…if you just try, I know you can…" She trailed off.

"I _am_ trying," Estel said, and his voice quavered in spite of his attempts to keep it steady. "I am, and it's stupid, but I just wanna get outta here, and I can't…" His eyes drifted to the stairs again. "I can't go down into _that_. It's…this isn't…" His breathing grew more rapid, almost frantic, and he shook his head hard and resumed his pacing.

"Estel. Estel!" Cen grabbed him by the shoulders, making him stop. "Listen. We're going to keep going. We're going to go down to the Shrine, and beat the Fiend, and light the Crystal. I know…" Estel tried to interrupt, but Cen raised his voice and spoke over him. "I know you don't want to go, but just think of it like this: you're going down there to kick that Fiend's ass for _making_ you go down there. You can do that, right? Isn't that a good enough reason to keep going?"

Estel stared at Cen, the conflict plain on his face. Finally, he nodded.

Cen sighed in relief. "Good." He released Estel's shoulders. "All right, let's go." He started toward the stairway again, but Estel did not follow.

"It's dark," he said flatly. "We'll get lost."

Cen shook his head. "No, we won't. Tristan told me there are raised marks on the wall, and we just have to follow those and we'll get to the next level. And then we can have light again. Okay?"

Estel did not look encouraged. Cen sighed.

"Okay. We'll…" He looked around, brow furrowed in thought, then blinked as he struck upon an idea. "Okay, here's what we'll do. Come here."

He waited as Estel approached him. "Right. I'll do this…" He clasped Estel's hand, holding it tight. "…and then…" He looked over at the others. "Sapphire, grab Rath and come over here."

Sapphire looked at Rath and blushed. She hesitated, then reached out and took hold of his hand. Rath bristled, his eyes flashing, but he did not voice any protest. Sapphire stepped over to Cen and Estel. Cen nodded.

"Right. Now, take Estel's other hand. Just leave your staff; I don't think you're going to need it down here."

Sapphire did so. Estel's hand tightened around hers.

"Okay." Cen looked down the line. "We'll go through like this. I'll follow the marks on the walls and lead us along. That way we won't get separated, and…" He nodded to Estel. "…you'll be better with me and Sapphire on either side of you, right?"

"Maybe…"

"Okay. Come on."

Cen led the group back down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, the lights went out again, and the companions paused, both so Cen could find the markings and to check Estel. His hands clenched, and Cen and Sapphire could feel him start to shake, but he did not panic; when Cen started moving, Estel stumbled after him.

The journey through the dark seemed to last for hours. Though, fortunately, the group remained unmolested by any creatures that might have dwelt there, they still had to go slowly so Cen could follow the marks exactly. Estel, his nerves already raw, continued to shake as they went along, and several times jerked as though trying to turn back. Only the grip of Cen and Sapphire's hands kept him moving forward.

Finally, after who knew how long, Cen stumbled and almost fell as he bumped against a shin-high barrier of stone. In spite of the darkness, he smiled.

"I think I've found the stairs." He bent and felt around the stone threshold. Just past it was a staircase. "Yeah, this is it. Come down carefully, and we can have light again once we reach the bottom."

Just as he said, when they reached the final level Sapphire was able to re-conjure her lights. The illumination revealed a narrow corridor, the walls dripping with ooze and slime. As soon as the light returned, Estel sagged in relief, and he sank toward the ground. Cen released him, and Sapphire let go of Rath's hand—to Rath's relief—to drop down beside Estel and embrace him.

"There," she said, her own voice shaking a bit. "I knew you could do it."

Estel nodded. His body remained rigid, but at least he managed to keep his breathing steady.

"Okay," Cen said after a moment. "Let's get going and finish this."

Once Estel and Sapphire were back on their feet, the companions started on their way again, Cen leading, Sapphire and Estel right behind him, and Rath at the rear. This hike through the final caverns seemed to take longer than any of the others, even though the path was clear and the creatures of the cave seemed content to let the companions pass unmolested. Each step seemed to cost a massive amount of effort. Eyes gleamed out from dark corners. The sound of their footsteps echoed alarmingly in the deathly still air. The darkness that pressed in on their dim sphere of light seemed ominous and threatening. For once, Estel remained unperturbed, forcing himself to focus on the goal ahead rather than his surroundings. Beside him, however, Sapphire grew steadily paler, and she held his hand more tightly, this time to still her own shaking rather than his.

At last, the companions reached a tall metal door held shut by a heavy latch. Cen reached out to open it, but after a pause he withdrew his hand and looked back.

"I guess this is it. Are we all…ready, I guess? Or as ready as we can be?"

Sapphire had gone very pale indeed, and her hands trembled, but she gave a determined nod in reply to Cen's question. Estel nodded as well, and Rath gave what was, given his current mood, a very enthusiastic response, waving a permissive hand toward the door and actually speaking.

"Continue. We must end this."

Cen nodded, then turned back, lifted the latch, and pushed open the door.

No slime coated the large chamber beyond, the place instead as dry as a desert crypt. Stalagmites, stalactites, and columns filled the room. In an open space in the center, an oval-shaped crater with two dark stalagmites protruding from its sides lay sunken into the dusty floor. In mid-air above this depression, between the horns of stone, hovered a massive crystal, over four feet tall; a spiderweb pattern of cracks marred its surface, and though it had once glowed with brilliant golden light, only the faintest hint of a yellow glimmer shone within it now.

Before this Altar stood a towering, shrouded figure. It stood with its back to the door, its hands outstretched toward the Crystal. From what could be seen of the figure in the dim light, it seemed painfully thin beneath its long, flowing shroud, its head bare, its hands skeletally slender.

Sapphire made a quiet whimpering sound and took a step backward, half-hiding behind Estel, who looked as though he wanted nothing more than to leave that room and never return. Rath remained as emotionless as ever, but Cen strode toward the figure, hand on his sword hilt.

"Okay, that's enough of that, Fiend!"

The figure lowered its arms.

"Who speaks to me?" it said, its voice rumbling and sepulchral. It turned to face the Light Warriors, and the reason for its thinness was explained.

It was a skeleton. Its bare skull grinned down at them, its bony fingers clicked and rustled at its sides. A few shreds of muscle clung to the bones of its arms. Its shroud, composed of the same dark slime that coated the caverns above, bubbled and flowed and coiled around it. Though no eyes rested in the skull's sockets, the companions could feel it staring at them nonetheless. Sapphire swayed where she stood, and Estel shuddered, but Rath and Cen stood fast.

"We're the Light Warriors," Cen said. "And we're here to kill you and put that Crystal back to how it's supposed to be."

"The question was rhetorical. Though I suppose I should not have expected you to realize that." The Fiend started toward the group, the earth trembling with each step. "You truly have no idea what you face. Yet you have the arrogance to come here and accost me. Me! Lich, the master of Earth! You…" He paused, searching for the right words. "…prideful, insignificant insects. Vile, brief creatures who have no right to exist."

"_You're_ the one that has no right to exist!" Cen shouted.

"You don't know what you're talking about, boy," Lich said coldly. "My brethren and I have more right to this world than any that have ever dwelt on it. You are meddling in affairs far beyond your understanding."

"Sorry, I'm not buying that." Cen drew his sword and pointed it at Lich. "We came here to defeat you. That's all I need to know."

"You think you, mere mortals, can defeat me?" Lich laughed, and the entire chamber shook with a terrible earthquake, loosening stalactites from the ceiling and knocking the companions to the ground. Lich's amusement subsided, the earth stilled, and he lifted a skeletal hand to his brow.

"Ah! Had I eyes, I would be shedding tears of mirth. I almost feel I should let you live so that you can remain here and entertain me." He watched the companions as they staggered to their feet. "Ah, but you did not speak in jest, did you? A shame. I am almost sorry, but…" He lifted his hands, and the air around him grew chill and sparkling. "Prepare to fall, Warriors of Light."

"_Move_!" Cen bellowed.

He and the others ducked and tumbled aside just as man-high shards of ice sprang from Lich's hands and bombarded the ground where they had been standing. Hiding behind a cluster of columns and stalagmites, the Light Warriors could hear Lich start to chuckle, and the ground trembled and dust rained from the ceiling.

"Drop your packs!" Cen hissed, shedding his own. "They'll only slow you down!" He unslung his shield as the others followed his instruction. "Ready?"

"Wait," Rath said. He held his hand out toward Cen, there was a flash of green light, and Cen's body became faintly blurred, his movements accelerated by the spell. Cen nodded, then leapt out into the open and charged at Lich.

Lich did not even attempt to dodge this surprise attack. The heavy blows from Cen's longsword struck him but had no effect, glancing off the thick bone and getting entangled in the glutinous cloak. Lich flicked his fingers, and a bolt of lightning shot from them and blasted Cen across the chamber. And Lich laughed, and the room shook.

As the electricity faded, Cen scrambled to his feet. Behind the columns, Rath lifted his hand again, this time toward Estel, and there was another bright flash of green. Estel's body blurred just as Cen's had as the spell sped up his motions. He rose, drew his saber, and ran out toward Lich. His strikes did no more than Cen's, however, and before he could get out of the way, Lich backhanded him, flinging him against the wall of the chamber. He slumped to the ground but quickly regained his feet and charged again, eyes hard and blazing.

Cen darted around Lich, trying to land a serious blow, but nothing he did had any effect on the towering Fiend, and the slime cloak caught his legs and slowed him. Lich hardly had to defend himself, merely tossing Cen and Estel away or spraying them with lightning when they drew too near to him. Between attacks, his laughter rang out through the chamber, making the ground tremble.

Rath, dragging a terrified Sapphire with him, emerged from behind the columns and thrust out his hand. A burst of fire flew from his palm and struck Lich in the chest, and Rath repeated the spell twice more, allowing no reprieve between attacks. Lich recoiled from the sudden bursts of heat, then, as the flames died, he began to laugh.

"That is your magic? How feeble you are!"

He extended his hands, and again, spears of ice shot out at the companions. This time, the spell found its targets, and the slender spears struck with the force of speeding arrows. They threw Cen and Estel backwards, bruising and cutting them, and one grazed Sapphire's shoulder as she tried to duck out of the way. Rath took hits in the shoulder and side with enough force to throw him into the column behind him. He slumped to the ground, then wrenched the shards out and struggled to his feet, leaning heavily on his staff. Blood began soaking his robes.

Sapphire pulled herself up and moved over to Rath. With a frightened glance at Lich, she held her hands over Rath and cast her Cure spell. Blue light covered him, but the wounds only closed partially, and the bleeding slowed but did not stop. She started to cast the spell again, but Rath shoved her away.

"Help them!" he snapped, pointing out at Cen and Estel, on their feet and trying to attack Lich again.

Startled, Sapphire backed away from him, then held her hand out toward Lich. White light radiated from it, pale in the face of the terrible, mocking Fiend. Lich cringed, and Cen took the opportunity to charge forward and slam his blade into Lich's side. There was an ear-splitting crack as the sword broke one of Lich's ribs, and Cen darted away again, just managing to escape Lich's vicious retaliating swipe. Lich straightened up, no longer laughing.

"Saph!" Estel yelled from across the room. "Do that again!"

Lich spun around and slashed at Estel, slamming him against the wall again. A gash across his forehead poured blood into his eyes, obscuring his vision. He ducked behind a stalagmite, panting and shaking, hand white-knuckled around the hilt of his saber.

Rath started forward again, and, as Lich took another swipe at Cen, he dropped his staff and extended both his hands. A boiling orb of fire sprang to life between them, and he shoved it toward Lich. It sank into the ground at the Fiend's feet, and moments later a pillar of fire erupted beneath him. Lich roared in fury and pain, writhing in the flames. Before he could recover, Sapphire lifted her hand and the light came again. As Lich raged against it, Cen ran forward once more, hacking at the Fiend's side. Another rib cracked, but this time a strike from Lich's clawed hand flung Cen across the chamber. Lich rose to his full height.

"Enough of this!"

Lightning sprayed from his hands, sending the Warriors to the ground in convulsions. Columns of fire rose up, and screams and the smells of burning cloth and flesh filled the room. Ice fell, but amidst it came faint blue-green glimmers: Sapphire, curled up and whimpering on the ground, unknowingly sending healing magic out to her companions. Lich saw this and roared; tremors wracked the chamber, stalactites fell from the ceiling, and the ground split asunder around his feet. There was a flash of green, and this time it was Lich whose movements became hastened. He whipped around, cloak of slime rippling, and seized Cen and hurled him across the room. Cen slammed into the wall with a crunch and landed, sprawling, near where Estel lay hidden; Estel grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the way.

Lich spun toward the two mages. Sapphire pulled herself away as fast as her shaking and weakened body could, hiding behind a column, but Rath could not move that fast and did not even try. Lich seized him in one bony hand and threw him, hard. He struck a slender column, which shattered at the impact, then skidded along the floor. He lay motionless where he had fallen, and a pool of blood began to spread out across the ground from his body.

Sapphire started crawling toward him. "Rath! Rath, get up!"

"Saph, do something!" Estel shouted, rising and trying to support a teetering Cen.

Lich swept toward them, ready for another attack.

Sapphire clambered to her feet, leaning against a stalagmite for support. She was as white as parchment, her expression panicked; her hands trembled as she extended them toward the towering Fiend. White light, almost blindingly brilliant, flooded the room, beaming out from Sapphire's hands. Lich halted and stumbled backward, bellowing in pain as the light pierced his shroud and stabbed into his body.

Seizing the opportunity, Cen and Estel both rushed forward. Instead of using his sword, Cen rammed Lich with his shield, half-knocking the Fiend to the ground. Estel leapt over him, landing on Lich's collarbone and knocking him down still farther; another crack rent the air as the impact snapped more bones. Cen clambered up and staggered toward Lich's head. He swung his sword high and brought it down with a crunch on Lich's skull, shattering both bone and blade.

Lich's body heaved, knocking Cen back and throwing Estel beside him. Shafts of light pierced his shroud, his body pulsated, and a long, terrible, reverberating howl poured through the air, coming from deep within his chest. His body thrashed and spasmed again, then he burst apart into millions of ash-like particles. A violent tremor ran through the ground, and then a thick silence fell, broken only by Cen and Estel's heavy breathing.

Dust trickled down ponderously from above.

Sapphire had fallen to her hands and knees again, knocked down by the blast, and now she crawled toward Rath's body. The pool of blood had spread, but Sapphire paid it no heed; she continued to inch forward until she knelt right beside him.

He had landed on his back, his hat miraculously still in place. The gaping puncture wounds left by the ice shards had been widened by his fall and still bled persistently, if not as heavily as before. His eyes were shut, and he did not react when Sapphire touched him and spoke, her voice cracking.

"Rath? Rath, wake up. Wake up, we've won, we beat him, you have to see…"

No reaction. Sapphire held her hands over his body and murmured her Cura spell. Blue light flowed from her fingertips, but Rath's condition did not change. She cast the spell again. Still nothing.

Estel staggered to his feet. Cen seemed unable to stand on his own now, and Estel had to half-carry him over to where Sapphire knelt. Blood ran down the back of Cen's neck, and Estel scooped palmfuls of blood out of his own eyes.

"Sapphire?"

Sapphire ignored him, continuing to cast her healing spell on Rath. She began to list a bit to one side as her repeated spellcasting drained her energy. Estel lowered Cen to the ground, then knelt down beside Sapphire.

"Saph, it's not helping."

"It will." She did not look at him. "Rath, get up!" She sounded angry now, as though Rath was keeping her waiting on purpose. She cast the spell again.

Estel wiped another trickle of blood from his eyes, then looked at Sapphire, his expression solemn. "It won't help him, Saph; he's—"

"He's _not_!" she snapped at him. "He'll be fine, I just have to—" She shook her head, tears suddenly pouring down her face. "He's fine! He just needs to wake up! He's not…he can't be…" She crumpled, curling down with her face in her hands.

Cen sat next to them, watching blearily as Estel tried to comfort Sapphire, only for her to pull away from him, wailing. Cen looked at Rath's body.

"I…I know," he muttered. Estel and Sapphire looked over at him. "I'll…I can fix it… Wait for me…"

With difficulty, he pulled himself to his feet and staggered over to their packs. He started rifling through his, his movements jerky and forced. After what seemed an age, he withdrew a small leather pot, the top corked and sealed with wax. He stumbled back to the others and collapsed beside them.

"See? I remembered…from before, I…" He swallowed hard, trying to gather his broken thoughts. "From the ship, see? I remembered. It can fix this…right?"

Sapphire's eyes widened. "The phoenix down!" She reached out to take the container from Cen, but she stopped as she saw how bloodstained her hands were. She tried to wipe them on her robes, but it did not help much. "I…I can't do it…"

"That's okay," Estel said. "We'll help." He retrieved his pack and grabbed a potion out of it. He uncorked the bottle and upended it over the back of Cen's head. The liquid steamed and hissed as it contacted and healed the wound, and Cen's eyes cleared a little. He shook his head, then looked at Sapphire.

"What do I do?"

"Open it, pour the down into your hand…"

Cen did so, then glanced questioningly at Sapphire again. She wiped her eyes, smearing tears and blood across her face.

"Put your other hand over it…"

Cen cupped his other hand over the little grey mound of down in his palm, and after a moment a glimmer of light came from between his fingers. He lifted his hand. The down now glowed slightly pink, and at a prompt from Sapphire, Cen dusted it over Rath's body. The glow faded.

Nothing happened right away. Estel, trembling with exhaustion, got out some potions for him and Cen. Sapphire remained anxiously bent over Rath's body, watching for any sign of life. Then, just as Cen and Estel had used their second potion apiece, Rath shuddered, drew a gasping breath, and began coughing violently.

Sapphire burst into tears again, laughing and sobbing at the same time. Cen heaved a sigh and slumped back against a nearby stalagmite, and Estel, digging out another potion, looked up with tired relief.

Rath's coughing subsided, and his breathing became regular, though heavy and difficult. He opened his eyes, seeming to have great trouble focusing on anything as his gaze swept the room, over the still-dark Crystal, the debris from the fight with Lich, and then it fell upon Sapphire, still bending over him. His eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?" he said in between labored breaths.

"Oh, Rath, I—"

"_What are you doing_?" he repeated sharply.

"We… I was healing you, Rath. You had _died_."

Rath glowered. "Idiot girl!"

Sapphire looked as though he had just slapped her in the face. "But you…"

"But nothing! My life is not important compared with the fate of the world! You could have attended to me after you lit the Crystal! Do you have no sense of responsibility, of priority?"

"I had…I had let you… I had to fix what I let happen!"

Rath started to reply but began choking and coughing again. Cen uncorked a potion for him, while Estel tugged gently on Sapphire's arm.

"Hate to say it, but he's right," he whispered. "We gotta get that Crystal lit."

Sapphire was too stunned to reply. She got to her feet, her gaze lowered, and walked over to where her pack lay. She stared at it for a moment, then bent down and took out her crystal shard. A faint light seemed to be flickering inside it. Sapphire turned it over in her hands a few times before she looked up and started toward the Altar of Earth in the center of the room.

Hovering in the air, the cracked Crystal towered above her head. She looked up at it, her face tear- and blood-stained and her expression blank, then glanced back at the others. Estel was gathering up their packs, and Cen had picked up Rath and now held him as carefully as he could. Sapphire turned back to the Crystal.

"What do I do?"

"Find where the shard belongs and replace it," Rath said, voice faint but scathing.

Sapphire pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling as she scanned the surface of the Crystal in front of her. Finally, she found a small chink amidst all the hair-thin cracks, and with quivering fingers, she slid her little shard of yellow crystal into the hole with a glassy scraping noise. The shard dropped into place with a quiet clink.

Deep inside the Crystal, a yellow light flickered. As the companions watched, the light grew slowly brighter until, with a blinding flash, the Crystal lit completely, cracks mended, bathing the chamber with golden light. As the light pulsed through the room, a gentle tremor ran through the ground as the power of Earth began flowing again.

Another, smaller burst of light came from the Shrine, and something small and bright flew out of it. The object, a hand-length miniature of the Crystal, hovered in the air before Sapphire. She stared at it and, at a nod from Estel, took it in her hand.

Before any of the companions could speak, there was another flash of light and they suddenly found themselves outside, just in front of the entrance to Jord Cave. Cen and Estel looked around in amazement and, in Estel's case, tremendous relief, but Sapphire just slumped to the ground, the small, glowing crystal slipping from her grip and her hands falling into her lap.

The ground directly before the cavern entrance had solidified already, thanks to the sudden rush of power from the Earth Crystal, though the rest of the valley still looked vaporous and swampy in the moonlight. Estel hurriedly rolled out a bedroll so Cen could set Rath down, then he went over and knelt beside Sapphire. She did not acknowledge him, even when he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Saph?" he said hesitantly. "Saph, are you okay?"

Sapphire did not answer. She just buried her face in her hands and started to sob, shaking with fatigue. Estel put his arm around her shoulders and sat with her while Cen set up the camp.


	17. Child Of Innocence

**Chapter 17: Child of Innocence**

_"Impossible! Impossible! How could they do that?! It's—"_

_ "Impossible, yes. You said that already. And, as they did do it, it clearly _is_ possible, so you may want to revise that statement. …Don't look at me like that. You know I am just as upset as you are by this turn of events."_

_ "But—!"_

_ "Calm yourself and think for a moment, please. The usurpers do in fact have some power, and they would reasonably bestow considerable talents and gifts on their minions. They no doubt believe this will be sufficient to defeat us, which just proves how short-sighted and misled they are. Lich's defeat is tragic and upsetting, yes; he is our brother, and it would be callous of us not to be distressed by what has happened to him. But does it really impede us in our ultimate goal?"_

_ "…No. No, it doesn't."_

_ "Then they have achieved nothing. Let them have their delusions; we will see Lich again once—"_

_ "Ah…ahh? What…what's going on?"_

_ "…Well, hello, dear heart. We weren't expecting to see you so soon."_

_ "What's happened? I sensed something… Wait. Wait, where's…?"_

_ "I believe you just answered your own question…"_

_ "Lich? Lich, where are you? Lich?! …LICH!"_

* * *

It took three weeks for the Warriors of Light to return to Melmond. Though the land had already begun to recover, the same could not be said of the four young heroes. Rath had slipped into one of his dark moods, not speaking, not even acknowledging his companions; he seemed to only want to sleep, and it often took physical force to wake him in the mornings so the group could continue. Sapphire had fallen into a similar state, remaining silent and looking as though the slightest thing might make her burst into tears. Unlike Rath, however, she hardly ever slept, and this quickly began to take its toll: she constantly looked wan and exhausted, and each day she started lagging behind the others earlier and earlier. Cen and Estel, trying their best to help along their rundown companions, could only watch this with discomfort and worry, as it seemed nothing they could do would shake the pair from their depression. Finally, after nearly a month of travel through the healing countryside, the battered group saw the walls of Melmond rearing up before them, dull red in the sunset.

Tristan stood at the gate, waiting for them. As soon as they came into sight, he gave a shout and ran out to meet them.

"Thank the gods! You're all right." He hugged his brother very tightly, while Cen squawked and protested being subject to such treatment. "When you didn't turn up when we expected, I thought—"

"Okay, okay, I get it, Tristan," Cen interrupted, sounding a bit strangled. "Now get _off_, would you? I've lost the feeling in my arms."

Tristan released Cen from the embrace, then held him at arm's length, looking him over. "At least you're all in one piece. No lasting damage?"

Cen shook his head. "No. Well…not to me, anyway."

Tristan frowned and looked over the others, taking in Rath's dull, dead-looking eyes and Sapphire's exhausted and teary face. His eyes widened in shock, then softened into a look of sympathy and concern.

"Oh… I see." He looked around at them again, then turned back to Cen. "I think questions will be able to wait until tomorrow. Let's just get you all home and cleaned up. If nothing else, a bath and a real bed to sleep in probably sound pretty good by now."

"Best thing I've heard in _weeks_," Estel said with a slightly dramatic groan.

"I thought so. I'll go ahead and have Kirien put the kids in their rooms; I don't think seeing you all like this would be very good for them. See you there in a minute."

* * *

Kirien, after her initial shock at their appearance, wasted no time in bustling the companions off to the guest rooms to rest and instructing them to send out their battle-worn clothing so she could clean and mend it for them. Cen and Estel thanked her profusely for this, but Sapphire remained as silent as ever, and Rath outright refused the offer, keeping the door to his room shut tight and giving no answers to any of the queries called through to him. Kirien shot a worried look at Tristan, who could give no answer beyond a shrug and a shake of his head.

The companions did not wake until late the following morning. Cen and Estel looked almost back to normal after having bathed and had a full night's comfortable sleep, but Sapphire and Rath, seen outside their rooms for a few brief moments only, looked no better than before. After a few delicately pointed remarks from Tristan, Cen and Estel settled in the front room with him and Kirien to tell them about what happened in Jord Cave.

Tristan and Kirien listened intently as Cen and Estel related the journey through the caverns and the fight with Lich, every so often wincing as one or the other described someone being electrocuted or smashed against the wall. When they reached the point of Rath's death, Kirien gasped aloud.

"He died? But…"

"Yeah," Estel said. "Lucky that Cen remembered to bring phoenix down, huh?"

"I should say so," Tristan said, looking stunned. "That was smart, Cen."

Cen glanced away, looking a bit sheepish, before going on with the story.

"All that is what's wrong with those two now. Sapphire…well, you saw what she's like with him. It was like the end of the world or something for her. And then, as soon as Rath woke back up, he really ripped into her about it; he was _furious_. Saph just kind of went to pieces."

Tristan leaned back in his chair with a sigh and a wince, and Kirien glanced toward the guest rooms with concern.

"So that's it," Tristan muttered. He paused, frowning, then he shook his head. "This is _not_ the most encouraging way to start things off, I must say."

Estel looked over at the guest rooms too, his look of concern far surpassing Kirien's. "Yeah, tell us about it."

"What about you?" Cen asked. "What was happening here when you got back?"

Tristan cringed. "Nothing good. I used Haste to get back as fast as I could, and it's a good thing, too: the siege closed the day after I got back."

"Siege?" Cen stared. "The zombies…?"

"Exactly. Things just went on like they had been while we were gone, but I guess the defeat of the Fiend snapped things back to how they're supposed to be. The zombies started acting…well, normal, I suppose. They didn't retreat, just pressed in on us from all sides, tens of thousands of them. And with the damage the wall had taken already…" Tristan shook his head. "It was like trying to keep the ocean back with a leaky dike."

Estel's mouth fell open. "How the hell'd you stop _that_?"

Tristan actually smiled. "Rather cleverly, I think. Slow spells around all the gaps in the wall, and then lighting up the zombies outside. The Slow effect stalled them enough that the ones that did get inside burned up before they could do any damage. Those who didn't burn fast enough got taken down hand-to-hand." He paused. "You know, having them swarm like that actually made getting rid of them a lot easier."

"Sounds like."

"Yeah, wish we could've switched places with you, Tris," Estel said.

Tristan sighed and sat back in his chair. "I'll agree with that. That Fiend…Lich, right? He sounds like something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, much less anyone in my family. And then…"

"Then there are three more left to deal with," Cen finished, locking eyes with his brother. "Call me a doom-sayer, but I don't like our odds, if this guy was just the first."

"I can't blame you for that, Cen. Still—"

"We must leave."

The group turned to see Rath standing near the door, looking almost zombie-like himself, standing half-slumped in his ragged robes. His eyes gleamed out, eerie and blank, from the darkness beneath his hat, and his voice sounded flat. He had something clutched in one hand. Cen and Estel exchanged rather alarmed looks as they saw him, Kirien put her hand over her mouth, looking shocked, and glanced worriedly at Tristan.

"Yes, Rath?" Tristan asked calmly.

"We must leave," Rath repeated in the same dead voice. "Now."

"Why?"

Rath lifted his clenched hand and threw something small and glittering across the room. Cen caught it in one hand and looked down at it: his red shard of crystal. Frowning, he turned back to Rath and started to say something, but then he stopped and looked at the shard again.

Instead of glowing a steady, bright red as it had been doing previously, the light within the crystal now flickered and wavered like a candle flame in the wind. Even as Cen watched, the crystal gave a final, pitiful gleam, then went dark.

Cen stared.

"What happened to it?! It…it just went out!" He slapped it against his palm a few times, as though hoping this would relight it.

"The Fire Shrine," Tristan murmured. "It must have just fallen."

"Shit." Estel slumped in his chair and scowled. "Don't we even get some kinda break or anything?"

"Yeah, we do." Cen frowned down at his shard, then looked over at Rath. "We can't go anywhere yet, Rath. We don't know where the Fire Shrine is, so what's the point in—"

"We know where to go," Rath said. He kept his disturbing, blank stare on Cen.

Cen stared back, torn between confusion and irritation.

"Okay, fine," he said finally. "Where, then?"

Rath gave a deeply apathetic shrug. "It is _your_ Shrine." Before any of the others could reply, he turned and left the room, going back to his bedchamber. They heard him shut the door behind him.

Cen frowned down at his now dark shard.

"What was _that_ supposed to mean? Why would I know where the Shrine is?"

"You wouldn't," Estel said, shaking his head in disgust. "He's just bein' a smart-ass again. Must be startin' to feel better."

"Estel." Tristan gave him a reproving look.

"Yeah, sorry…"

The room fell silent as the group tried to work out what exactly Rath had meant with his parting comment. After a little while, Kirien rose and left to check on the children, who were playing outside. The silence persisted.

"Crescent," Tristan murmured at last.

Cen and Estel looked at him. He continued.

"The Fire Shrine is in Crescent. It's a perfect fit. There's so much geothermal activity in that area, and then there's Mount Gulg there in the middle of the mountains…" He looked at Cen, whose expression had darkened. "Rath must have figured you'd know that. Looks like you're headed home next, Cen."

Cen nodded. He turned the crystal shard over in his hands a few times, staring at it, before looking back at his brother with a slightly pained look in his eyes.

"Tris…"

"I know," Tristan said. "But what choice do you have?"

Cen stared at the crystal for a while longer, then shook his head. "I'll…I'm going to go try to tell Sapphire what's happened."

He rose from his chair and started to leave the room, but Tristan stood and stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Cen, if you want me to come along, I'd be more than willing—"

"It's all right, Tris," Cen said. "No, really, I'll be fine. You stay here with Kirien and the kids. Maybe…I don't know, maybe things will be different."

Tristan gave him a concerned look. "I hope so."

"Yeah. Yeah, me too." Cen shook his head. "Anyway, I'll go talk to Saph. We'll get going as soon as we can."

* * *

"How long do you figure it'll take to sail to Crescent from here, Estel?"

It was near midnight, the sky cloudless and star-speckled. Cen, unable to sleep, had gone up to the widow's walk to get some air, and a short while later, Estel joined him. The pair of them now sat on the attic roof and stared out at the healing landscape as Estel considered Cen's question.

"Dunno," he said at last. "Shortest way would be to go around Elfheim and come in from the south, but goin' that way's stupid unless you're in one of those big icebreaker ships, and then _nobody_ goes out around north of Cornelia and stuff unless they're an idiot or a hell of a lot braver than I am. And goin' straight west and comin' around the other side…" He paused, thinking. "Well, how long'd that take on the _Mistborne_?"

Cen shrugged, staring out over the landscape. "Four, five months?"

"Right… Well, even with how damn fast the _Charybdis_ is, I'd still give it two months to get all the way around and get to Crescent from the east. Plus walkin' time from the port to Crescent Lake."

Cen sighed. "That fast, huh?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. But…y'know, I was thinkin'…" Estel turned to look at Cen, worried. "If this…" He gestured at the swampy mess outside Melmond's walls. "…is the kinda thing the Earth Fiend does, what's the Fire Fiend gonna do if we don't get over there now and stop it?"

There was a rather stunned silence. Cen looked at Estel, and the same image went through both their minds: their hometown, Crescent Lake, being mercilessly razed to the ground by a fiery, Lich-like monstrosity.

"We can't let that happen," Cen said.

"Yeah, I know."

"Then…" Cen sighed. "We'll have to leave soon. Like the day after tomorrow. I'll let Tris know in the morning and we can pick up supplies for the trip."

"What about Saph?" Estel asked, looking worried for a different reason now.

Cen fell silent, thinking, and stared out over the wall again.

"I guess her and Rath will just have to sort themselves out while we're traveling. With two months, at least one of them ought to be able to fix _something_."

* * *

Thick grey clouds covered the sky on the morning the Light Warriors left Melmond. A brisk wind came from the north, promising a swift start, but Estel kept frowning at the sky as the group stood on the docks to say good-bye to Tristan. Cen looked slightly subdued, and Sapphire, still wan and silent, stood there only because she lacked the motivation to board the ship just then, but Rath had already boarded, setting his things between a pair of benches and lying down beside them.

"I have something for you," Tristan said. He handed Cen a long, sheathed sword. "I picked it up the last time I was in Crescent Lake, but since your sword broke, I thought you could make better use of it than I could."

"Thanks, Tris."

Cen accepted the sword, drawing it from the scabbard to examine it. The blade, made of silver-blue metal, glinted even in the muted light. Cen gaped.

"Mythril! Tristan, you can't give me this!"

"Of course I can," Tristan replied. "You're my brother, and I'd rather you didn't get horribly mauled because you didn't have a decent sword."

"This is better than decent…"

"All the better to stab a Fiend with, right?" Tristan gave a faint smile, then sobered again. "You know, I almost hate to say this, but it only just struck me how much you're doing. 'Warriors of Light' sounds nice, and I knew what it meant for you all to have that title, but it wasn't until I saw you returning from Jord Cave that I really understood what you have to do and what you're up against. It was…I suppose you could say it was a bit of a rude awakening for me. Who would want to think that people they know and love are being thrust into that kind of danger, after all? Now, I may just be saying this because I can't bear to think about the alternative, but…" He looked around at the three companions, especially at Cen. "I know you can do this. It might seem impossible at times, but I know you're strong enough."

Cen smiled. "Thanks, Tristan."

"You're welcome." Tristan smiled back. "Good luck on your journey. Say hello to Mother for me when you get home."

"I will."

With that, Cen and the others boarded the _Charybdis_, Estel leading Sapphire along and Cen waving back at Tristan, and set off on their journey to Crescent Lake.

* * *

The weather remained gloomy as the _Charybdis_ traveled, making its way around the Devil's Tail and then due west across the Ingens Ocean toward the nation of Crescent. Heavy, dark clouds obscured the sky, and the petulant wind whipped up the water into low, frothy whitecaps. Elven ship that it was, the _Charybdis_ suffered little from these inconveniences and continued steadily on its course. Its passengers, however, did not have such an easy voyage.

Contrary to what the others had expected, Sapphire did not hide herself away in the hold. She had intended to, it seemed, but as soon as she had looked down into the darkness she had balked, fleeing across the deck to curl up on a bench instead. To isolate herself, she instead cast a Fog spell, resulting in a little white patch of cloud that surrounded her and hid her from her companions' sight. She recast the spell whenever the fog began to dissipate. She scarcely ate, drank, or slept, and she persisted in not speaking to any of the others.

Rath slept almost constantly. Even as the days went by and he began coming, slowly, out of his private darkness, he still spent the better part of his time lying between two of the benches, either asleep or pretending to be. When awake, he, too, did not speak to the others. As the journey went on, though, he did begin to contribute somewhat, occasionally taking a turn at the tiller while Cen and Estel slept.

Cen and Estel found all this behavior very troubling, but neither could think what to do. Cen opted to ignore it, both in the hopes that it would solve itself and because the situation made him uncomfortable. Estel, on the other hand, drove himself to distraction, trying to work out something, anything that he could do to make things better, but he had no success. The pall hanging over the group persisted.

Just over two weeks into the journey, Sapphire finally let her shield of fog vanish. Night had fallen, and clouds still blanketed the sky. Cen and Estel lay fast asleep, each between a pair of benches toward the bow, and Rath stood at the tiller. A small puffball flame hovered behind him, providing a little sphere of visibility, and another hung in front of the ship's prow like a lantern to light the way. Rath stared forward, not acknowledging Sapphire's reappearance.

Sapphire looked out over the ocean, at Cen and Estel's sleeping forms, and finally up at Rath. She watched him for a while, then she got to her feet and took a few hesitant steps toward him.

"Rath?"

Rath's eyes flicked toward her, but otherwise he gave no indication he had heard her. Sapphire drew a shaky breath and stepped nearer.

"Rath, I…I need to talk to you…"

"Then speak," Rath said, his voice forcibly level. He did not look at her.

Sapphire stammered, her gaze going to the deck at her feet. She began to fidget with her sleeves.

"I…want to apologize. For what happened…" Her lower lip began to tremble. "For what happened to you in Jord Cave."

There was a prickly silence.

"I fail to see why you are taking responsibility for the actions of a monstrous skeleton," Rath said, a slight sneer in his tone. "Unless you are confessing you willed it to nearly break me in half."

Sapphire looked almost in tears.

"Don't, please. I just…I should have been able to do something to stop him, and I didn't, and—"

"You did nothing," Rath interrupted, his voice growing sharp, "because I forbade you aiding me. My life, as I believe I said at the time, was not the priority; the priority was defeating the Fiend and relighting the Crystal. Were you to be busy hovering over me, our companions would have fallen, as, shortly afterward, would we with no one to divert the Fiend's direct attention from us. And which, truly, is the worse situation: myself temporarily dead, or the entire group, and thus the world, permanently dead?"

"That isn't…" Sapphire bit her lip, looking away over the dark water. "I know, but that isn't…I mean…" Her eyes flicked back to Rath, then away again, her face coloring slightly. "That's not why I'm…"

A tense, awkward silence fell. Sapphire stared down at her hands as she fiddled with her sleeves, and Rath resumed ignoring her, instead focusing his steering. Finally, Sapphire, shuffling uncomfortably, looked back up at Rath.

"Rath, I'm sorry."

"Stop that!" Rath hissed, turning to glare at her. "Do not apologize for things which were not your doing. _I_ pushed you away, and Lich did me the _great_ courtesy of ending my life. Your apology is patently ridiculous, and as you believe you were doing right in reviving me before attending to your duty as a Warrior of Light and will therefore not apologize for doing so, there is _no_ reason for you to be saying those words to me."

"There is a reason," Sapphire said, almost pleading. She moved closer to him, just a little. "There is, and it's not, I mean…" Her voice started shaking. "You had _died_, and I was just…I was so upset. It was so awful to see you lying there, I…"

"No more awful than it would have been to be faced with _their_ corpses, I should expect." Rath jerked his head toward Cen and Estel.

"It _was_ worse. It's because…because I'm…" Sapphire drew a deep breath, steeling herself. "Rath, I love—"

But Rath cut across her, his eyes cold and his voice laced with venom:

"_Enough nonsense_. I have one objective in my life, and that is to pursue and complete this quest. As of this point in time, _you have no part in this path_."

Sapphire stared at him, stunned. She opened her mouth to speak, but Rath just went on, ignoring her attempt.

"The Earth Crystal has been lit. As far as I am concerned, you have served your purpose and are now little more than excess baggage. There is no reason for me to think of you as anything other than that."

He turned away, staring up at the ship's lighted prow. Sapphire stared at him, breathing hard, her face going pale. Her hands started to shake, and tears filled her eyes. She took a step toward him, half-lifted a hand as though to reach out to him.

"Rath…"

Rath turned his head and looked at her. His gaze held no pity and no regret, only disdain. Sapphire looked back into his eyes, frozen, and then her tears spilled. She jerked her hand back and pressed it over her mouth to stifle a sob before turning and fleeing to the hatchway. She dropped to her knees, fumbled the hatch open, and disappeared into the hold. The hatch thudded shut behind her.

Undisturbed, Rath brought his attention back, once more, to the tiller.

* * *

The next morning, Estel woke, looked around, and knew something was wrong. Rath stood at the tiller, as ever ignoring the others and only looking away from the ship's course to check the compass. Cen stood at the opposite gunwale, taking care of some morning business. Sapphire's cloud, however, was not present.

Estel got to his feet, scratching his head with one hand and rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the other. He looked around the ship again, between the benches, and, after a pause, peered over the side.

"Er, d'you guys know where Saph is?" he asked, looking back at the others.

Cen shook his head. "Nope." He finished what he was doing and turned around to look at Estel. "She wasn't out here when I woke up."

Frowning, Estel turned to at Rath.

"D'you—?"

"Sapphire went below deck at some point during the night," Rath said. "She has not emerged since then."

"She…what?" Estel looked down at the hatch. "But she didn't wanna go down there. Why would she now?"

Rath shrugged.

Estel continued to stare at the hatch, his frown deepening. He moved as though to reach down and open it, but then he drew back and looked at Cen.

"Maybe, er, someone oughta go check on her."

"Ah…" Cen glanced at the hatch, then raised an eyebrow at Estel. "You know, maybe she just needs a little privacy. You can go if you want, but I'd rather not interrupt her if she's…you know, in the middle of something." He shrugged, then sat down on a bench and began rummaging through the little stock of food they kept on deck.

Estel sighed and looked back at the hatch. He stared at it for quite a while, long enough for Cen to finish eating and take Rath's place at the tiller. He sat down on a nearby bench and kept staring. He got up, paced down the deck, went back to the hatch, and stared at it.

This went on for over an hour. Cen finally gave an exasperated sigh.

"For the love of Shiva, would you stop it? Just go down and check on her if you're so worried."

"I'm workin' on it," Estel muttered, not looking at Cen.

"Fine, but work on it in a way that's less annoying, would you?"

After a few more minutes of staring and pacing, Estel walked up to the hatch. He knelt down next to it, pulled it open, and looked inside. The faint glow of a marshlight came from somewhere in the darkness. Estel drew a deep breath, swung himself onto the ladder, and went down into the hold.

The hold was more crowded now, packed with enough supplies to last the two month voyage to Crescent. A few marshlights drifted around, making the shadows shift along the inside of the hull. Estel, going tense, made his way among the stacks of boxes and barrels toward Sapphire's 'cabin.' He peered around the edge of the boxes that made up one of the walls of the room.

Sapphire sat curled up on her little cot, her face hidden against her knees and her arms wrapped around her legs. Estel hesitated, glancing back toward the ladder and the hatchway, then took a step toward her.

"Saph?"

Sapphire started so hard that she nearly fell off the cot. She righted herself and looked up, her face tear-stained, eyes red and swollen from crying. Estel gaped, his unease vanishing completely to be replaced by concern.

"Saph, what's wrong?"

Lip starting to tremble, Sapphire shook her head and looked away, starting to curl up again. Estel walked into the little alcove and sat down next to her.

"What is it? What happened?"

"Rath," Sapphire said. "He was…he said—" She broke off as tears began to fall.

Estel winced. "Oh, Saph…"

"I was…I was trying to tell him…tell him I was sorry for letting him d-die, but…but…" The tears fell faster, and she had to stifle a sob. "He wouldn't…wouldn't let me, and he said, he said—" She stopped, trying to choke back her tears enough to continue. "And then…then I told him why I was…was so upset, and, and how I felt about him, but, but he…" Her hand went to her mouth. "He just got angry at me!" She began to sob, not even trying to control herself.

Estel stared at her, stunned, but after only a moment his expression softened, and he reached out and put his arms around her. Sapphire huddled against him and buried her face against his shoulder as she continued to weep.

"Ah, Saph…" Estel rubbed her back gently. "I'm sorry."

"And that…that isn't…" Sapphire tried in vain to get her breath back, then went on, her voice muffled. "He told me to leave! He said, he said that I'd done what I was supposed to, and…and that now I didn't have any reason to, to stay, and—" She broke off, sobbing too hard to continue. She freed her arms and flung them around Estel, clinging to him.

Estel gritted his teeth and held her tighter. He shook his head.

"He's wrong. Of course you have a reason to stay."

Sapphire shook her head. "I don't. I'm not, I'm not any good at this, not…not like you and Cen and, and…" She could not bring herself to say Rath's name. "I can't, can't do anything right, I just get in the way and, and I can't even…I can't protect or heal people like I'm, like I'm supposed to—"

"Hey, don't talk like that. You're great at what you do. I mean, c'mon, I can think of at _least_ five times you've fixed me or saved me from gettin' hurt, so don't say you can't do it right. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't've got this far; hell, _Garland_ probably would've taken us out."

Sapphire did not answer; she just continued to sob onto Estel's shoulder. Estel sighed and fell silent, holding Sapphire and resting his head against hers. They sat like that for a long time. Finally, however, Sapphire began to calm down, relaxing against Estel instead of clinging to him as her tears slowed. She turned her head, and Estel looked down at her.

"I thought…" Sapphire paused, her breath hitching. "You don't like being down in…holds and caves and things like that."

"Nope, I don't."

"Then why…why did you come down here?"

Estel gave a half-smile. "Well, I had to see if you were okay, didn't I?"

"But…aren't you scared or…or anything?"

"Well…yeah, I am. I always am with this kind of place. But, hey, this isn't about me; you're the one who's feelin' rotten." He fell silent, hesitating, but then he continued. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"…I don't know. I just…" Sapphire turned her face to his shoulder again. "Oh, Estel, I'm so tired. Every time I try to sleep, I…I just see Lich staring at me again, and I see…I see—" She stopped, trying to keep herself from breaking down again.

Estel sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that'll happen. Hey." He patted her shoulder, and she half-straightened to look at him. "I hafta go up top and take care of something, but I'll be right back, okay? And…" He smiled a little and wiped some of the tears off her flushed cheeks. "I'll bring you a handkerchief or something, too. Okay?"

Sapphire sniffed, her breath still a bit uneven, then she nodded and released Estel. After giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze, he let her go as well and got to his feet. He looked her over, ascertaining that she would be all right, then he turned, crossed the hold, and ascended the ladder leading through the hatchway.

"So what was it?" Cen asked as Estel emerged back on deck.

Estel did not answer. He very deliberately shut the hatch, straightened up, and crossed the deck to the bench where Rath was sitting. Without a word, without any warning besides the sudden ugly, furious look on his face, Estel yanked Rath out of his seat and punched him in the face as hard as he could.

The force of the blow knocked Rath to the deck, and he struck the wood with a thud and a grunt of pain. Before he could even start to right himself, Estel reached out to grab him again. Threads of lightning sprayed from Rath's body, and Estel jerked back to keep from getting shocked.

The _Charybdis_ lurched as Cen released the tiller. He rushed over and reached the others just as Rath got to his feet and Estel got ready to hit him again.

"Rath, you _bastard_!"

"Whoa, whoa, just a second." Cen caught Estel's arm and stared at him. "What's this all about? What'd he do?"

Estel did not look at him, instead keeping his glare on Rath.

"Tell him! Go on, tell him what you did to her!"

"I did her the courtesy of abolishing her delusions," Rath said tersely. He dipped his hand inside his collar, felt around, then drew it back out and looked at it. Blood coated his fingertips, lurid against his pale skin. His eyes narrowed in a sneer. "Lovely." He wiped his fingers on his robes. "Her behavior was both tiresome and counter-productive to our mission. It is better she be cured of it."

Cen stared at him, his expression hardening.

"You're kidding. You have to be kidding. You got after her for—"

"For being an immature, over-emotional spoiled brat!" Rath snapped. "Even now, with what we have just undergone, she has no understanding of the magnitude of our quest. And unlike the pair of you, who function and contribute in spite of your ignorance, she is wholly occupied with being liked and approved of rather than with what we are meant to do. Her lighting the Earth Crystal was the _only_ purpose I saw in having her in the group, and accomplishing that task has effectively rendered her useless."

"Useless?" Cen, expression stony now, released Estel's arm. "Useless. And how in the _hell_ do you figure that? Better make it a good answer," he added, starting to roll up his sleeves, "or else you're going to end up a bloody heap on this deck."

"If you could touch me before I froze your blood in your veins." The air around Rath changed, taking on the glimmering appearance that heralded his Blizzard spell. He took a step away from the others, keeping one hand extended toward them to keep them at bay. "Were you both not so enamored and protective of her, you would see the truth in my accusations. Outside relighting the Crystal, she has made no meaningful contributions to our task. What she has done is collapse in misery when there is the slightest hint someone does not approve of her and consistantly embroil us in situations which do not involve us and which thrust us into unnecessary danger, not to mention she shirked her duty in the Shrine of Earth due to her senseless attachment to me. If these behaviors persist, then I see no reason for her to continue on this undertaking."

"Bullshit!" Estel snapped. "What about all the times she's saved your sorry ass? How's that 'useless'?"

"I cannot think of one instance where we could not have managed without her."

"Dammit, Rath—!"

"Stop defending her!" Rath sounded slightly manic now. "None of you, not _one_, understand what we're doing, even now! After facing one of the Fiends, after we have all nearly died, you _still_ don't understand! And until you do, you have no right to criticize me or my actions!" He stopped, breathing hard and trying to get control of himself. "I told this to Sapphire, and now I will repeat it to you: either I will successfully complete this quest, or I will go to my death. That none of you have the same resolve, or even comprehend the need for it, sickens me."

A nasty silence fell. Cen and Estel glowered at Rath, but they made no more movements toward him, nor did they attempt to argue against what he had said. Rath watched them, narrowed eyes flicking from one to the other, then he lowered his hand.

"It seems you are not so impermeable after all," he said dryly.

"You're done, Rath," Estel said, his jaw tight. "_Done_. Unless we need you to blow something up for us, you don't exist anymore. Got it?"

Rath arched one eyebrow. "Am I meant to be dismayed by this?"

He brushed past the others and returned to his bench, shuffling through his things to find a book to read and a potion to mend what Estel's fist had done to him. Cen, with a last glower in Rath's direction, returned to the tiller, while Estel fetched his pack and disappeared back into the hold.


	18. The Ties That Bind

**Chapter 18: The Ties That Bind**

The rest of the journey to Crescent passed without major incident. True to Estel's word, Cen and Estel both refused to acknowledge or interact with Rath for the rest of the voyage. Rath returned this treatment whole-heartedly, not in the least bothered by being shunned; he just went back to his routine of sleeping excessively and reading whenever he was awake. Sapphire remained miserable and withdrawn, and she continued having trouble sleeping. This caused problems for Estel, as it seemed Sapphire could only get to sleep when he was nearby; given she refused to leave the hold for a couple of weeks, he started to get very jumpy and on-edge from all the time spent cooped up below deck. He counted it a major victory when he finally managed to coax her outside. Though Rath's presence made her nervous, Sapphire adjusted well to being in the open air again, even if she still insisted on sleeping near Estel each night.

Finally, just over two months after their departure from Melmond, the Light Warriors reached Hook Port, Crescent's main port and the largest town on the coast. Though they arrived near nightfall, they did not disembark and find an inn, instead passing the night aboard the _Charybdis_. This puzzled Sapphire, as did the fact that Estel refused to stand up, instead sitting slumped on the deck against the gunwale. He gave a rather embarrassed smile when she asked about it.

"I'm, er, kinda still wanted here."

"For what?"

"Erm…don't remember exactly. Something to do with the mayor and a barrel of ankheg eggs, I think…"

Sapphire did not know quite what to make of this, but Cen had to fight the urge to burst out laughing.

The group left early the next morning, Cen having to smuggle Estel out of the town. Traveling from the jut of land on which Hook Port lay, the companions took the road which led south along a narrow strip of open, hilly land between the coast and Crescent's towering, snowcapped mountains. Aside from being an easy trek, the road wide and well-kept, this change improved the mood of the group considerably. They now had something to do instead of just sitting around all the time, which helped them take their minds off all that had been happening. The change of scenery aided things as well, for Sapphire in particular. She could hardly stop staring at the Crescent Mountains, their sides dark with evergreens and their heads swathed with snow and clouds.

"They're so big! I've never seen mountains that tall before!"

"You'll get to see a lot more of them," Cen said, smiling. "Crescent Lake is right up in the middle of those."

"Really?"

Cen nodded.

"You'll really like it, Saph," Estel said. He fell into step beside her, his hand at her elbow to help guide her along as she gaped at the scenery. "The mountains just surround the whole place, the town and the lake and everything, and then there are all the hot springs and…" He fumbled for the right word, without success. "…and the waterspout things and all that. And since it's fall, the trees'll all have turned colors and be all red and gold."

"Oh…" Sapphire gave a little sigh. "It sounds wonderful…"

Estel nodded. "It is. It's just about the most beautiful place I ever seen."

After only a few days, the road curved west and came right up to the mountains, plunging into the forest that covered what seemed to be one massive slope. As Estel had said, the trees flaunted leaves of brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges, some here and there with leaves so dark red they looked purple. Mixed with these were bands of evergreens, pines and spruce with their pungent smell. The road wound through this colorful, fragrant woodland, zigzagging as it started to climb the slope of the mountain.

Something about all this did wonders for Sapphire. Even though the steady upward course was rather difficult, following the road's switchbacks higher and higher up the mountain, it did not seem to tire her at all. She stopped looking quite so pale and dismal, and she began sleeping better. Cen and Estel kept shooting grins and victory signs at one another as they watched her improvement. Rath, on the other hand, stayed indifferent; he hardly seemed to be part of the group anymore, beyond the fact that he walked with them during the day and stopped to sleep when they did. This was just as well, as his veritable non-existence made it easier for Sapphire to keep her mind off him.

It took several days' easy going to traverse the slope. About twice a day, the group passed a rest spot with little huts for travelers to stay in overnight; the companions always stopped at these, either to rest their feet for a little while or to sleep before continuing on the next day. Finally, however, they reached the summit, emerging from the vibrant autumnal forest near the edge of a short cliff, and Sapphire got her first sight of Crescent Lake.

The cliffs surrounded the entire lake, reaching down to gentler slopes that went right to the water's edge. Beyond the cliffs, more mountains rose up, snowcapped and majestic. The lake itself, its water a dark, clear blue, was indeed crescent-shaped, and its two horns curved off into the distance. On the rise of land in the center of the lake sat the city of Crescent Lake itself, nestled against a brilliant patch of forest like that which coated the slopes of the mountain. The clear autumn air made the colors even more bright and sharp, and the noonday sun sparkled on the lake.

"Oh…" Sapphire looked quite beside herself, her eyes round as she stared out at this vista. "Oh, it's _lovely_…"

Estel glanced at her and smiled. "Told you you'd like it."

Cen could not help but laugh a bit at the awestruck look on Sapphire's face. "Looks like I've been taking this place for granted all these years, I guess." He clapped Sapphire on the shoulder. "We'll take a break here. Have a seat, then you can start staring again, okay?"

The group settled down in the shade at the edge of the forest, looking out over the view; Rath sat a little apart from the others. Sapphire's gaze did not leave the lake as she leaned back against a tree.

"I've…never seen anything like that before. How the lake just…" She lifted her hand and traced the outline of the lake with one finger. "It's such a perfect shape."

"Yeah, it's pretty neat," Cen said, nodding. He sat against another tree, one leg drawn up, the other stretched out in front of him. "This whole place…" He waved a hand out at the scene before them. "…used to be a big volcano, you know. A long time ago. Then, about…I don't know, something like a thousand years ago, it erupted so hard that it blew itself up, and the land underneath it collapsed, making this big valley. Water from rain and the springs filled it up and made the lake."

Sapphire turned away from the view to look at Cen.

"That's fascinating. Where did you learn that?"

Cen cleared his throat, looking a little embarrassed in spite of himself. "Tristan told me. I guess I might've heard it somewhere else too, but I only remember when Tris explained it."

Sapphire looked out over the lake again. "And there's a new volcano out there now, right? That's where…" She paled. "…the Fire Shrine is."

Cen and Estel glanced at each other over the top of Sapphire's head.

"Yeah, that's right," Cen said. "It's called Mount Gulg, and it's just about straight west from here. We don't have to worry about that right now, though; we got here in plenty of time this time."

"Yeah," Estel added, patting Sapphire bracingly on the shoulder. "We can deal with that mess once we get there. And hey, don't worry; it'll be different this time."

Sapphire did not answer, drawing her knees in and hugging her elbows. Cen and Estel exchanged worried looks, then Cen took the initiative and changed the subject.

"Hey, Sapphire." He nudged her shoulder. "See that forest down by the city?"

"Yes…"

"That place is _infamous_, you know. Really."

Sapphire looked down at the forest in question, then back at Cen.

"It is? Why?"

"Because that…" Cen paused for dramatic effect, then grinned. "…is where Estel first turned up when he came here. He's been terrorizing the place ever since."

Estel yelped in protest. "Hey, don't say stuff like that! I don't 'terrorize' anything!"

"Oh, sure you did. Everyone lived in fear of you, remember?" Cen winked at Estel, quickly so Sapphire could not see.

Estel blinked, then got the hint. He flopped back against the tree behind him.

"I did _not_ terrorize," he repeated obstinately. "I just livened up the place. It was borin' as hell before I got here."

"How could it be?" Sapphire looked at him, stunned. "This place is amazing."

"Yeah, but the city's run by the University," Estel said. "All those smart types goin' in for books and rules and stuff all the time. Place needed shakin' up, y'know?"

"I was the one who found him," Cen said, drawing Sapphire's attention back to him. "I was out working with the practice sword Elend gave me for my birthday, and I heard this scuffling off through the trees. I went to look, and there was Estel…" He looked around at his friend. "You were twelve, right?"

"Almost thirteen."

"Right. So, twelve. Anyway, there he was, getting completely thrashed by this gang of dropout monks for stealing their money."

Sapphire gave Estel a slightly reproving look. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Hey, I was desperate; I hadn't had anything decent to eat for more'n a week."

"…Oh." Sapphire's her expression softened. "Well, that's…I guess that's an all right excuse, then. And I am sorry you got hurt over it."

Estel nodded, looking vindicated. "Yeah, that's what Cen thought too. He waded in and pulled me outta there before I got really beat up, and told off the monks."

"Without getting thumped myself, lucky for me," Cen said, leaning back against the tree and wincing at the memory. "It was me, just barely fourteen, facing four grown men. Scariest thing I'd ever done in my life."

"How did you make them leave you alone?" Sapphire asked, sounding quite enthralled. She uncurled a bit, watching Cen with wide eyes.

"I lied," Cen said.

"Like a rug," Estel added, nodding.

"I made up something about how Estel was my parents' ward, and did the monks really want it getting out that they'd beat up two of Idren and Mira's kids. They backed off pretty fast. Of course, then Estel got after me for lying, so…"

"So he brought me home so I'd leave him alone about it," Estel finished. "Mira made this huge fuss over me; funniest thing I'd ever seen. And then they went through this whole big thing, Idren threw a huge damn fit, but Mira and Cen actually won for once and I ended up gettin' adopted. And poor Cen…" He heaved a dramatic sigh. "…hasn't been able to get rid of me ever since. He'd just be the perfect model citizen if it wasn't for me. Ain't that right, Cen?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Cen said, giving Estel a skeptical look. "Yeah, the best kid in town, that was me. You totally ruined everything."

This story served to distract Sapphire from her worry, at least for the time being, and Cen and Estel kept up their banter as the group got underway again. It seemed to help, and Sapphire started behaving more normally, even if she remained a little quiet.

The group spent a few days traversing the edge of the crater, making their way westward. When they descended to the shoreline, a ferry spared them a few days more, taking them across one of the horns of the lake to the land in the center of the crescent in just a few hours. The companions followed the road from the ferry dock, winding through the acres of farmland around the city, and as afternoon began to wane to evening, they came to the city gates. As it was still light out, the gates stood open; carvings of Ifrit and Shiva, elemental twins and Crescent's patron deities, adorned the posts of the gateway. Two sentries, wearing blue-grey uniforms and bearing no weapons, stood on either side of the gate. They exchanged surprised looks as they saw and identified Cen and Estel, but they let the group pass into the city without comment.

Crescent Lake could not have been more different from Melmond. Where Melmond had been crumbling and in disrepair, Crescent Lake gleamed, the roads made of well-fitted flagstones, the buildings clean with white fronts and high-peaked roofs. Trees and bushes lined the streets, and many houses had flower gardens in front of them. Those people out and about seemed in good spirits, and a few offered cordial greetings to the companions as they passed. Against the west wall of the town, a complex of tall, spired buildings loomed over its neighboring structures. Cen, leading the way, started toward this group of buildings.

"What are they?" Sapphire asked, staring at them as she walked.

Cen cast the buildings a very sour look. "That's the University."

Sapphire looked stunned. "All of that is a _school_?"

"_And_ the government," Estel added. "It's what you'd get if you took a school and Cornelia's castle and smushed 'em together."

"Oh."

Cen led the group past the University and down a side-street just to the north, into a very well-off neighborhood. After a few minutes of walking, they came to a house somewhat larger and finer than those around it, two stories high with a wide lawn around it and a few trees dotting the property. Cen brought the group to a halt before it.

"This is it. Home, sweet home."

Sapphire stared at it. "It's…bigger than I thought it would be."

"Yeah," Cen said, sounding somewhat embarrassed. "My father collects things, artifacts and stuff, you know, so he needs a lot of space for it all."

Looking oddly ill-at-ease, he went up the front walk and tried the doorknob, but the door was locked. He rang the bell, but no answer came from inside. He frowned at the house, then shook his head, turned, and walked back down to the others.

"I guess they're not home. We'll have to wait for them to get back."

"Why?" Estel asked, looking quite baffled.

Cen shrugged. "Tristan told me to say hello to Mother for him…"

"Cen? Cen, is that you?"

The companions turned and saw a rather pretty young woman of about twenty-five watching them. She had dark hair and wore the same sort of robes Sapphire did. When she saw Cen's face, she smiled and approached.

"It _is_ you! And Estel too! Goodness, I didn't think we'd ever see you two again; it's been so long since you left. It's good to see you."

Cen smiled back, ignoring Estel's quiet outburst of snickering.

"Hi, Valette. How have you been?"

"Oh, well enough. What about you? What have you been off doing?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Cen replied, giving a self-deprecating smile. "Hey, do you know where my parents are? It doesn't look like they're home."

Valette's smile grew a bit sad. "I think they're visiting your sister."

"Oh." Cen sobered at once. "All right. Thanks, Valette."

"You're welcome." Valette gave a small nod. "I'll let you go find them, then. We'll have to talk some more later, when you have the time." She smiled again, and then turned and went on her way, off down the street and out of sight.

Cen exhaled heavily and shook his head. "Well, great. Okay, let's go." He started back down the street, and the others followed him, Rath raising his eyes skyward in exasperation.

"You have a sister, too?" Sapphire asked, looking a bit surprised.

Cen did not reply, and Estel made a shushing motion at her. Sapphire frowned.

They walked through the city for quite a while. It looked as though Cen was heading toward a neighborhood near a large complex of hot springs in the center of town, but just before he reached it he turned aside, instead going through the gate of a cemetery. Sapphire paled and became very subdued.

The companions wound their way among the grave-markers, finally reaching a rather elaborate one toward the rear of the cemetery. A man and a woman stood before it, their backs to the approaching companions. The woman, small and slight, wore a dark red dress, and her sandy-blonde hair was pulled back in a high bun. The man, taller but still thin, wore dark trousers and an impeccably tailored, long dark coat, and his red hair showed streaks of grey. They appeared to be deep in thought.

Cen hesitated, looking distinctly uncomfortable, then took a few steps forward.

"Mother? Father?"

The woman turned, stared at him for a moment, and then gasped. "Cen?!"

Cen smiled and nodded.

Before anyone else could react, the woman rushed over to Cen and embraced him with, judging by the expression on his face, as much force as Tristan had before.

"Oh, Cen, we've been so worried about you! The way you and Estel just disappeared, oh, it scared me half to death, and then we never heard from you, only what Tristan told us…" She released him from the hug, only to pull him down and kiss him all over his face.

Cen was obviously trying to give some kind of reply to this, but between his sputtering and his mother's fussing, only the odd word of it could be heard. Estel had both hands clamped over his mouth to prevent himself from laughing aloud.

Mira finally released Cen, leaving him staggering a bit, then turned and spotted Estel. His amusement vanished immediately as Mira subjected him to the exact same treatment Cen had received. Sapphire looked quite bemused by all this, and Rath backed away as though to avoid being targeted, looking alarmed.

Idren, in the meantime, had continued to stare at the gravestone for a while before turning, and he now watched the proceedings with a detached expression. When Mira at last released a now rumpled Estel, Idren stepped forward, a look of rather Rath-like indifference on his face. Cen, on reflex, stood a little straighter as Idren approached. They shook hands in greeting.

"Hello, Father."

"So, you've decided to come home. Tired of frittering your life away at last?"

A look of definite unease started to come over Cen.

"I haven't—"

Mira interrupted.

"You must tell us where you've been." She sounded perfectly cheerful, as though she did not notice the chilly exchange between her husband and her son. "Tristan's said you've been off with Elend, but we would like to hear—"

"Perhaps, Mira," Idren cut in, "we should continue this elsewhere. This is hardly the place."

"Oh, of course," Mira said at once. "We'll go back to the house. But, Cen, at least introduce your friends first." She beamed at Rath and Sapphire, both of whom looked slightly nonplussed.

Cen looked relieved by the diversion.

"Ah, right. Well, this is Sapphire—" He gestured to her. "—she's a white mage, and a pr—" He stopped short, glanced at Sapphire, then backed up and tried a different approach. "—she's from Cornelia. And…" He looked rather annoyed at having to even speak about his other companion, and he gave Rath a less than flattering look. "…this is Rath. He's a black mage, and he's…" He trailed off in mild surprise as he realized he could think of nothing, bar insults, to say about the young mage.

Sapphire shuffled a bit in discomfort, shot a look at Rath, and then straightened up and drew a deep breath.

"He's from Onrac."

Rath's eyes widened, then he glowered at Sapphire. Sapphire quailed a bit, and Estel surreptitiously stepped between the two of them, blocking Rath from Sapphire's view. Mira seemed to ignore this, just looking delighted to meet her sons' new friends, and she hugged both of them. This at least changed Rath's attitude; his anger vanished, and he looked terrified until Mira let go of him.

Introductions finished, the group left the cemetery. Idren and Mira walked ahead now, with Cen just behind them, his shoulders tense.

* * *

Walking into Cen's home was like walking into a museum. Glass-fronted cases lined the walls, containing dozens of ancient artifacts from nearly everywhere in the world. Larger, free-standing pieces stood dotted around as well. Bookcases, small and large, obscured other walls. It looked like this in the entrance hall, the sitting room, and the dining room, and in all likelihood, the upper floor looked much the same.

Idren went to put away his coat, while Mira led the companions into the sitting room. Thick rugs lay on the floor before each of the chairs and the sofa in the chamber. Opposite the doorway stood a large fireplace, currently empty, with a family portrait hanging above it. In it, Tristan looked to be in his late teens, and Cen, seated on his mother's lap, could not have been more than four. In a prominent position in the middle of the picture, sat a nine-year-old girl with a tremendous amount of freckles and a lot of very curly, tomato red hair. Idren had his hand on her shoulder.

Mira bustled around the room, starting to light the lamps that sat on the little end-tables amidst yet more of Idren's archeological knick-knacks.

"Go on and sit down," she said, smiling over at the companions. "I just need to get these lit."

"I'll help, Mother," Cen offered, stepping toward her.

"Oh, no, that's all right. Go sit; you've probably been on your feet all day."

Cen frowned, but he seemed to have expected this reply. He turned, crossed to the sofa, and sat down. Rath, scrutinizing the portrait, sat in an armchair set by the opposite end of the sofa, but Estel and Sapphire moved to join Cen.

"Stick your toes into the carpet when you sit down," Estel whispered to Sapphire. "Otherwise you slide off."

Sapphire nodded, and she made sure to brace her feet in the thick pile of the rug as she settled herself on the slick fabric of the sofa. Estel sat down next to her and leaned against the armrest.

Just as Mira finished lighting the lamps, Idren returned, now in shirtsleeves and an embroidered waistcoat. He sat down in a chair directly across from the sofa and stared at the companions. Mira sat in the chair beside him. Cen, who had been slouching in his seat, straightened up at once.

"So," Idren said. "What brings you here?"

"We had to come. Sir," Cen added quickly as a slight frown creased Idren's face. "We're…well, we're the Light Warriors, and—"

"The Light Warriors?" Mira gasped, pressing her hand to her heart. "Oh, Cen—"

Idren held up a silencing hand, and Mira fell quiet at once.

"The Warriors of Light. I see." Idren settled back in his chair, resting his elbows on the armrests. "I take it that means you came here to see Lukahn. He and a number of other sages have been here for months now, apparently waiting for you."

Cen's expression became decidedly blank, and Estel frowned in confusion. Sapphire's brow furrowed, then her eyes widened; she mouthed the words 'crescent moon' to herself before gasping and clapping her hand over her mouth.

Idren raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know he came here? I heard he left an obvious message behind with his associates in Cornelia."

A small flash of irritation, quickly extinguished, flickered in Cen's eyes, but he retained his deferential tone.

"No, sir, we didn't know he was here. We came because we need to relight the Fire Crystal, in Mount Gulg."

"Hm. And how did you come to know the Fire Crystal resided there?"

"I…" Cen trailed off and slouched a little again. "Tristan told me. He worked it out from a clue from Rath. Sir," he added, then he looked at Mira. "Tristan says 'hello', by the way, Mother."

Idren nodded, looking unsurprised.

"I see. Well, then, why not regale us with the tales of your adventures since you left home. I assume my brother has been the same pinnacle of moral uprightness he always is."

"Uncle Elend is doing fine, Father," Cen said, a slightly defensive edge to his voice. Before Idren could say anything else on the matter, Cen launched into a retelling of what had happened to Estel and him since they had left home.

This was an interesting experience for the others, as this rendition of events was clearly highly edited. Cen would start a sentence, then backtrack almost immediately and say something different instead. He kept his eyes on Idren and seemed to react to the slightest twitch the man made, rephrasing his words, shifting his posture, and generally looking deeply ill-at-ease. Judging by the look in his eyes, these reactions both embarrassed and somewhat angered Cen, but he did not seem able to help himself, and the behavior worsened as he kept talking.

Estel looked as though he had expected this to happen and so did not pay much attention to it. He instead busied himself with seeing how irreverently he could sit on the sofa, sprawling out, hooking a leg over the armrest, and other things, though trying not to dislodge or bother Sapphire. He seemed to have no point in doing this, beyond being amused by the way it made Idren's eye twitch. Sapphire sat quietly, listening to Cen talk and occasionally shooting a perplexed look at Estel in the midst of his contortions. Rath, on the other hand, paid avid attention to the exchange between Cen and Idren, his eyes narrowed. Once or twice, he looked as though he wanted to interrupt, but he each time he held his tongue. He sat back in his chair, his fingers steepled in front of his collar.

Finally, Cen drew near the end of his tale, reaching the point where the four companions had met.

"…and then me and Estel—"

Idren raised an eyebrow. Cen, his nerves wearing thin, seemed to shrink about a foot where he sat and, on reflex, put his hands behind his back. Rath noticed this and arched an eyebrow.

"I mean, Estel and I," Cen corrected, "met Rath and Sapphire outside Cornelia, around about midwinter day. We've just been making our way around since then. And we've already relit one of the Crystals."

"Which Crystal?"

"The one in the Earth Shrine, sir. It was in Jord Cave, so we stayed with Tristan and Kirien in Melmond while we were working on that. We had to fight something called a Fiend, a giant skeleton named Lich, and once we beat him, Sapphire fixed the Crystal, we went back to Melmond, and then started on our way out here."

Idren nodded but said nothing more, and he steepled his hands before him rather as Rath was doing. Mira, on the other hand, absolutely gushed over how brave the companions were and how proud she was of Cen and Estel, and she probably would have hugged all of them again if Idren had not restrained her.

A clock chimed in the entryway. Idren looked up at the sound, then stood.

"Pardon me; I have a council to attend at the University. I imagine you will all be staying with us while you're here?" He cast a look over the companions, eyebrow raised.

"'Course we will," Estel said with a grin. "Bet you've missed us bein' around and gettin' in trouble every other week all these years, huh? Gotta make up for lost time, y'know. Only too bad we didn't get back here sooner."

Idren winced at Estel's poor diction and grammar, but rather than replying he just left the room to get ready for his meeting. Estel snickered.

"Ah, that never gets old."

Mira, rising from her chair, gave Estel what might loosely be considered a stern look. Estel held up his hands in surrender.

"Oh, c'mon. You guys've had me around long enough that he oughta be used to me by now."

"Can we go up to our room, Mother?" Cen asked. He looked tired and sounded vaguely prickly. "We've had kind of a long day."

"Oh, of course," Mira said. "I've kept your room tidy while you've been gone, and—" She smiled at Rath and Sapphire. "—you two can take your pick of the guest rooms; they're the four at the end of the upstairs hallway."

Sapphire got to her feet, careful to avoid slipping on the sofa. Estel hopped up as well, and Cen and Rath rose more slowly. Out in the entryway, they heard Idren descend the stairs and leave, not saying good-bye to his guests, sons, or even his wife. Mira did not look at all bothered by this.

"You all go on upstairs and get settled. I have a few things to take care of in the kitchen, then I'll come up and see how you're doing." She left.

The companions exited the room as well, picking up their packs from where they had left them in the entryway and starting up the curved staircase leading to the second-floor landing. Cen grumbled to himself as he went, and Rath, coming last, had his eyes narrowed in thought beneath the brim of his hat.

"Your mother seems very nice, Cen," Sapphire said after a moment.

Cen stopped muttering.

"Yeah, she is. It's nice to see her again."

"Too bad she comes as a set with Idren," Estel said. "Just ruins everything."

Cen shook his head. "Just don't, Estel."

"Shutting up." Estel mimed buttoning his lips together.

The group reached the landing, the corridor to the guest rooms leading off it to the left. More display cases lined the walls here, along with a number of tapestries and old paintings. A few doors, leading to the family's bedchambers, opened onto the landing itself. Cen started to indicate the doors to the guest rooms to Sapphire, but he stopped as Rath, for the first time in weeks, spoke.

"Cen."

"I don't want to hear it, Rath," Cen snapped. He did not turn to face Rath as he spoke. "It's bad enough having Father breathing down my neck again, I don't need to get the same garbage from you."

Rath raised an eyebrow. "I merely wished to say I stand with you on the issue of your father's behavior."

Cen gave an aggravated sigh, spun around, and backhanded Rath across the face.

"I said I didn't want to hear it!" He turned away and stormed toward his room.

He took about five steps before he came to a halt. The anger in his face drained away, replaced first by surprise, then deep confusion. His shoulders relaxed, and he turned to look at Rath. Aside from staggering from Cen's assault, Rath had not moved; he just looked a bit dazed, and he brought his hand up to cradle his jaw through his collar. Estel and Sapphire stared back and forth between the two, Sapphire looking shocked, and Estel as though he thought the pair had lost their minds.

Cen opened his mouth, stopped, and closed it. He shook his head and tried again.

"Could you…say that one more time, Rath?"

Rath shook his head to clear his daze. He prodded his cheek and jaw gingerly before replying.

"I said I am on your side with regard to your father. In truth, I am not certain how you thought I could do otherwise; his behavior is abominable."

Judging by the continued confusion on Cen's face, this did nothing to clarify matters.

"But you act just like him."

Rath snorted in derision. "I should hope I am not as subversive as that. I at least present my disapproval in a straight-forward manner; _he_ cannot say as much. That is beside the point, however, as he has no right to treat you as he does."

"So, it's okay for you to give me a hard time, but not him?"

"He is your _father_," Rath said, a bit piqued. "No parent should harbor such disdain for his child. I, on the other hand, have no such obligation. But I may alter my behavior toward you in any case. After all, you have turned out remarkably well given your home environment. Better than well, if I may say so; compared to your father, you are a certifiable genius."

"Wow, he _has_ gone crazy," Estel said, sounding almost impressed.

Cen scowled. "Oh, very funny, Rath. I know I'm not smart; you don't have to rub my face in it. And you didn't have to come up with such a stupid lie to do it with."

"I am not lying."

Cen scowled and folded his arms. "Yes, you are. My father is one of the smartest men in Crescent Lake. He's a department head at the University, and at the beginning of the next school year, he might be made a vice-president. He's one of the most powerful people in the whole country. You don't get to be something like that by being stupid."

"Being educated is not the same as being intelligent," Rath said coolly. "Your father is the former, certainly, but not the latter."

"How do you figure?"

"Because, somehow, he seems incapable of understanding his living son needs his esteem more than does his deceased daughter."

Silence fell over the landing. Cen, looking like he had just been slapped himself, opened his mouth as though to reply, but no sound came out. Estel stared at Rath with some bafflement, and Sapphire put her hand over her mouth and looked at Cen. Rath raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, come. I refuse to believe none of you noticed. The signs were obvious."

"But…" Cen blinked a few times before managing to keep talking. "How do you figure that? You just barely met him. And he never even mentioned Sienna, anyway."

"How did your sister die?" Rath asked.

This brought Cen up short, and it took a moment for him to answer.

"It…there was a plague, in this big cloud that came down from the north. Sienna got sick, like a lot of other people did, and she didn't ever get better."

"Did anyone else in your family sicken?"

"Yeah. I did. I don't remember a lot of it, though; I was only five."

"Hm." Rath looked over his shoulder, back down the stairs and at the front door. "Well, he may have an excuse, then, but a poor one. His attitude is still abhorrent, however, regardless of whatever justification he has concocted for it."

The others just continued to gape at him. Rath sighed in exasperation.

"Perhaps, when next I happen to agree with one of you, I will simply hold my tongue. Doing otherwise requires far too much explanation and seems to send you all into a state of catatonia."

Estel regained his voice first. "Well, lookin' at what you said _last_ time…"

"I had recently died," Rath said. "I believe my lack of tact can be excused."

"…and the fact that you've pretty much been a complete asshole to all of us the whole time we've known you…"

Rath pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes. "Leviathan's tail…" he muttered under his breath, then he addressed the others. "Never mind the 'perhaps.' Next time, I _will_ remain silent. This is not worth the effort."

"Estel, knock it off," Cen said, to his own surprise as much as anyone else's.

Estel blinked at him, then, in a sudden fit of dramatics, pretended to swoon and slumped against Sapphire, dropping his arm around her shoulders to keep himself somewhat upright. Sapphire yelped in surprise.

"They…they're bein' _nice_ to each other," Estel said, sounding short of breath. "Hold me up, Saph. I can't take the shock…it's too much…"

Sapphire looked rather pleadingly at Cen. He just shook his head and put his hand to his forehead. Rath lifted his gaze to the ceiling in exasperation.

"Look," Cen said. "If he wants to actually side with us for once, I'm not going to complain about it. It probably won't ever happen again anyway, and he'll be back to being a jerk before you know it."

"I _am_ present, you realize," Rath said, eyes narrowed.

Estel gave a dramatic sigh and nodded, but he remained leaning on Sapphire.

"Yeah, I get it."

"Okay." Cen straightened up and looked around at the group. "Well, now we're here. We ought to go see Lukahn, since he's been here waiting for us for so long. So, that tomorrow, then we start out to Mount Gulg. Sound good?"

Nods and murmurs of agreement came to this, and the group began to disperse. Cen went to his and Estel's room, but Estel led Sapphire down to the guest rooms, Rath walking before them.

"You okay?" Estel asked in a whisper.

Sapphire nodded.

"Good." Estel gave her shoulders a squeeze. "You need anything, or have a bad dream, me and Cen are just right down the hall."

"All right. Thank you."

"Estel."

The pair looked up to see Rath watching them.

"What?"

"The word," Rath said, "is 'geysers.' Not 'waterspout things.'"

Estel blinked, then a grin appeared on his face. He gave a jokingly dismissive wave of his hand. "Hey, don't try to make friends with me."

Rath did not answer. He just turned, walked away, and entered the guest room at the far end of the corridor. Estel, snickering, escorted Sapphire to a room of her own, and returned to the room he shared with Cen.


	19. Sage Advice

**Chapter 19: Sage Advice**

The next day, the companions left Cen's house just after breakfast. This did take a while, however, as Mira felt the need to fuss terribly over Rath, who did not have anything to eat. It took a few tries for Cen and Estel's explanation—that Rath never ate with them, rarely even took a drink where they could see him—to sink in, and by then it was nearly ten o'clock. Finally, however, they managed to leave and start out to find Lukahn and his colleagues.

It did not take long; that a number of highly respected sages had taken up residence in the city seemed to be common knowledge. Those they asked pointed the companions toward the copse just outside the eastern wall. Cen led the group along a shortcut into the small wood, through a small gate in the eastern wall of the city. A narrow, winding path led through the forest, after a while opening onto a wide, grassy clearing in the midst of the vibrant autumn foliage. In the center of the clearing, sixteen woven mats lay arranged in a circle. Around the edge, twelve men, all advanced in years, stood in groups of twos and threes in conversation. One stood out to the companions: while eleven of the men wore identical rust-colored robes, the most elderly of the group wore ceremonial-looking robes of dark blue edged with gold. A large gold gem on a chain hung around his neck. He looked up as the companions arrived and smiled at them.

"Warriors! How good to see you at last."

He crossed the clearing to the companions; he moved slowly thanks to his age, but his eyes held the enthusiasm and energy of a man many years younger. He shook each Warrior's hand with surprising firmness, and his warm smile set all of them, even Rath to a degree, instantly at ease.

"It's wonderful to be able to finally meet you," the man said, "after having received so many prophecies concerning you."

Sapphire bowed her head. "Lukahn. It…it's an honor to meet you."

Lukahn smiled. "The honor is mine. Please, come." He waved a hand toward the ring of mats in the center of the clearing. "We have a great deal to discuss today."

The companions followed Lukahn to the circle of mats and sat beside him, Estel and Sapphire to his right, Cen and Rath to his left. The other sages left their individual conversations and joined the circle as well. Once everyone was seated, Lukahn raised his hands for attention.

"My fellow sages, we meet here again to discuss the great things that are befalling the world at this time. Today, we also have the great privilege to be in the presence of the four wonderful young people around whom these things revolve." He nodded to the companions. "We are most grateful that you're here, Warriors."

Cen cleared his throat, looking around in slight discomfort.

"Thank you. We're, er, sorry it took us so long to—"

"That's quite all right," Lukahn said. "We already know something of the trials you have been facing, and we understand why it has taken you some time to come here."

"…Oh."

"But," Lukahn continued, "we don't know everything you have gone through. Before we begin, please tell us all you have undergone so far in your quest."

Cen and Estel exchanged glances, and Sapphire's gaze dropped to her lap, her face paling slightly. Rath looked at her and seemed to be fighting the urge to roll his eyes. After an uncomfortable moment, Estel cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Yeah, sure. It, er, might take a while…"

"We have the entire day before us," Lukahn said, smiling. "Take as long as you need."

Estel looked around at the others, drew a deep breath, and started relating the tale of the companions' journey, beginning with their meeting outside Cornelia. His storytelling style was anything but linear, and he jumped from point to point with little regard for the actual chronology of events. Cen occasionally broke in to get him back on topic and to add information. Between the two of them, they related the entirety of the quest thus far, though rather awkwardly glossing over the unpleasantness during the voyage to Crescent Lake. Lukahn and the other sages listened with interest and, Lukahn particularly, with a bit of kind amusement at Estel's rambling.

"I see you have been through a great deal already," Lukahn said once Cen and Estel had brought their tale to something of an end. "Now, we may likely say this again, but we are most grateful to you for all you have done and all you will do during this quest. This is a great undertaking, and one that only you four can complete. For that, we, and everyone on this planet, owe you an immeasurable debt."

Cen and Estel shuffled a little on their mats, looking a bit sheepish, and a bit smug in spite of themselves. Rath's expression remained indeterminate, however, and Sapphire bit her lip and kept her gaze in her lap.

"We are merely doing what we must," Rath said. "This is our duty, not something we undertook to gain accolades."

A bespectacled sage seated opposite Rath nodded his approval. "Well said."

"That is a good resolve to have," Lukahn added, nodding as well. "The path before you is a difficult one, and knowing the importance of what you do will do much to keep you moving forward."

Sapphire drew a long, steadying breath. "Difficult…"

"Yes, Sapphire. You have seen that already in what you have faced so far, and you will continue to see it as you go onward. What has already come to pass has been to help prepare you for the challenges still ahead."

Sapphire nodded but also began picking at her sleeves, and she did not look up from her lap as Lukahn spoke to her. Estel gave her a worried glance and patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"The Fiend of Earth has done his work far too well," a dark-haired sage said. He watched Sapphire with great solemnity. "He caused so much damage that is less easily mended than his destruction of the earth. The Fiends' plan has continued to go forward, in spite of the defeat of one of their number."

The other sages nodded and murmured their agreement. Estel, however, looked a little puzzled, and he and Cen both looked at the sage for further clarification. The dark-haired sage went on:

"The Fiends know you. They have known of you since before your births, because the gods chose you then to come here and complete this task. And the Fiends hate you for it. They wish to destroy and ruin you as they wish to destroy and ruin the world, because you are the only ones able to oppose them. Some of you felt their poisonous touch long before you knew of your duty." His eyes swept the companions, lingering for half a moment on Rath and Cen. "The gods are protecting you, Warriors. They have guarded you from death, that you will be able to complete this quest and be triumphant. But that doesn't stop the Fiends from trying to harm you in other ways. And…" He looked at Sapphire, his eyes filled with pity. "…it is a sad fact that the heart and the spirit are much more difficult to heal than the body. The Fiend of Earth did great, terrible work indeed, in all he did."

"And the other Fiends are gonna be _worse_?" Estel asked, gaping. "I mean, that's what you said, that this's all just been to get us ready for the real bad stuff, right?"

"All the Fiends are unique," Lukahn said. "They may plan and act as one, but they are different in temperament and tactic. The Fiend of Earth struck at deep feelings in each of you: fears, loves, and hopes. That is a painful thing, to have such integral parts of your soul assaulted by such a powerful, dark force. The Fiend of Fire will take a different approach, and the Fiends of Water and Wind will be different again. Some tactics you may find…easier to confront than others. It is all dependent on how prepared you are for them."

Sapphire looked up, her face pale but her expression anxious and almost pleading.

"What will they try to do? How will they attack us? Do you know?"

"The Fiends are very mysterious creatures," said one sage, a small, balding man. "Even we know little about them and their origins. Their distinct temperaments and strategies are similarly beyond our sight at this time. The gods have not revealed such things to us."

"But what _do_ you know of them?" Sapphire asked, sounding slightly desperate now. "Please, tell us everything you can!"

Estel gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Calm down, Saph. It's okay."

Sapphire opened her mouth to say something, but then she stopped and nodded, her gaze dropping back to her lap.

"The Fiends…" Lukahn lifted his eyes skyward for a moment, as though in thought. "Their exact nature is still unknown to us. It seems, however, that they are the chief minions of Chaos."

"Chaos?" Cen blinked a few times. "Wait, I know that. That was that…monster thing that the gods killed, right?"

Lukahn nodded. "Yes. Chaos, ruler of the void and enemy of order. The gods destroyed him and buried his servants, the Fiends, within this newly created world. To keep the Fiends from breaking free of their prison, the gods placed seals on them, seals that focused the powers of the four forces and channeled them, trapping the prisoners in sleep and darkness."

Rath's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "The Crystals."

"Precisely. It was a cunning plan, but not a perfect one." Lukahn lifted his gaze again. "Somehow, the Fiends began to gain power, and as they did, the seals began to crack. Now the Fiends' souls, if such evil things could be said to have souls, could come into our world. They reformed their bodies, and one by one have come into full existence here. First, the Fiend of Wind, four hundred years ago. Then the Fiend of Water, two hundred years ago. Now, the Fiend of Earth, with the Fiend of Fire waking two hundred years before her time, having felt her brother's death through the bond they all share."

Cen blinked. "_Her_?"

"_We_ woke her up?" Estel said, looking stunned. "Damn. Sorry 'bout that."

Lukahn shook his head. "Actually, it's something of a two-edged blessing that she is awake. While it would have been simpler to mend the Crystal without needing to face the Fiend of Fire to do so, this will allow you to defeat her completely, not simply seal her away again. Also, as she is newly awoken, and awoken long before her time, she will not prove as formidable as her elder siblings to the north."

"Oh." Estel mulled over this information, then he nudged Sapphire. "See? So this one'll be easier. That's good, right?"

Sapphire nodded.

"Don't come to this lightly, Warriors," the bespectacled sage said. "You will need to prepare in every way for your upcoming battle with the Fiend. If you don't, if you become overconfident in your abilities, then you have no promise of being victorious or of having the gods aid you."

"What do we need to do to prepare?" Sapphire asked, looking up again with the same anxious expression in her eyes.

"There are many things that must be done," Lukahn said. He looked around at the companions. "And these things stand in facing all the Fiends, and in every challenge you will face. You must prepare your bodies, hearts, and minds, and most especially your spirits. We can give you some advice in these things, but…" He held up a silencing finger as Sapphire opened her mouth to ask something. "…there is much you must learn and discover on your own. Lessons are better learned if you must strive for them."

Sapphire's mouth remained half-open for a moment, then she slowly closed it. She dropped her gaze and nodded.

"I…I understand. Please…just tell us what you can."

A few of the sages whispered among one another for a moment, then one, a man with a shock of iron-grey hair, spoke:

"The most important thing, Warriors, is that you be at peace with one another. Any other preparation will be in vain if you are not unified."

Estel cleared his throat, looking guilty, and Cen shot a look at Rath out of the corner of his eye. The sage continued.

"The Fiends have a remarkable bond with one another; they are perfectly united, seeing their goal before them as with one eye. They plan and act as one, with no dissention among them. If you do any less than that yourselves, you will be at a terrible disadvantage, and the quest may fail."

Before the companions could do more than exchange uncomfortable looks, the dark-haired sage spoke up.

"You have all suffered much because of the path you have been set, Warriors. Terrible things have happened to you. Some of you have done terrible things yourselves, spurred by situations brought about by the Fiends and their servants. There is no blotting these tragedies from your memories, but it is vitally important that you not let them discourage you. Instead, learn from them, grow beyond them, and become stronger for having endured them."

Silence fell, the sages pausing to let the companions absorb this. Estel looked at Sapphire sitting beside him, while her gaze, in turn, flicked to Rath before falling back to her lap. Cen, chewing on the inside of his cheek, frowned down at the grass in the center of the circle, his eyebrows knitted tightly in thought.

"You don't have anything a little easier to start out with, do you?" he asked after a moment, looking over at Lukahn. "That's some pretty tough stuff."

Lukahn gave a small smile. "It is. But if you weren't capable of it, then you wouldn't have been chosen to be the Warriors of Light. That's rather encouraging, if you look at it correctly."

Cen blinked a few times. "Er…right…"

"Begin," Lukahn continued, "by learning to trust one another. It will take much time and effort to truly be one with each other, but by trusting, in spite of differences and disagreements, you will come much closer to that goal. Trust one another with your lives, your thoughts, your feelings. As you come to understand each other, you will grow closer and more unified."

Cen and Estel did not look quite so dubious at this suggestion, and Sapphire actually relaxed a little, but Rath became decidedly stone-faced.

A rather heavy-set sage spoke:

"You must be able to accept help, Warriors. Only you can complete the task of slaying the Fiends and relighting the Crystals, but there is no need to undertake the entire quest without assistance. Accept help when it is offered, and don't hesitate to seek it when you find yourself at a loss as to where your path next leads."

Lukahn looked up at the sky. "It is growing late."

The companions looked up as well, and saw, to their surprise, that the sun had long ago passed its zenith. Lukahn looked around the group as they turned back to him.

"We will not keep you here much longer, Warriors," he said with a small smile. "You must plan and prepare for your journey to Mount Gulg, and we shouldn't prevent you from doing so. We do have a few last pieces of advice for you before you go, however." He turned to Sapphire, his eyes brimming with kindness. "Sapphire."

She looked up from her lap expectantly.

Lukahn gave her a warm smile. "You are a wonderful young woman, Sapphire. You are tender-hearted and compassionate, and those are great attributes to have." His smile became sad. "Such sensitivity leaves you open for much pain. The Fiend of Earth exploited this to terrible effect, and now that the others know of the effectiveness of such an assault, they will no doubt call upon it again. Sapphire, you must strengthen yourself against this. There are many more painful things lying in wait before you, and you must be prepared to face them. Increase your understanding of the quest and your faith in the gods, and use these focuses to support and strengthen you. As you struggle onward, you will find that your heart will only become stronger as you overcome each trial."

Tears filled Sapphire's eyes as she listened to Lukahn speak. She quickly dabbed them away with her sleeve and bowed her head to him as he finished.

"Thank you, Lukahn."

Smile warming again, Lukahn reached out and patted her hands, clasped tightly against her knees. Sapphire looked up for a moment, returning the smile, then dropped her gaze back to her lap once more.

Lukahn now turned to Estel, who was watching Sapphire as she tried to surreptitiously wipe her eyes again, a concerned and almost touched look on his face. It took a moment for him to realize Lukahn was looking at him, and when he did, he snapped his head around to face the great sage at once.

"What?"

"Estel," Lukahn said, and his tone became mildly admonishing. "You have a great deal of work to do. You have no lack of courage or determination, and your loyalty to your friends and companions is truly admirable. However, you must learn to rein in your impulsivity. You often act without self-control or consideration of the consequences of your actions, or even thought of whether your actions are morally right. What is good at the moment may not be good in the long term, and you need to understand that. If you can learn this and learn to apply it in this quest and the rest of your life, you'll receive a great reward and blessing. But it depends on your actions. The gods don't reward those who don't heed their commands."

Estel blinked, apparently trying to gauge how offended he should be by all this. He finally settled for a frown and a petulant shrug, and he looked away from Lukahn, mumbling something under his breath.

Lukahn did not seem surprised by this reaction. He just closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, and then he turned to look at Rath. Rath stared back, a cool, almost warning look in his eyes.

"I think you already know something of what I will say to you, Rath," Lukahn said. He kept his tone impassive. "You are a very intelligent, cunning young man, and that has made you an effective leader of this group. Yet that is not enough to see you through what lies before you. You know that, even if you don't want to acknowledge it at this time. You need to begin trusting your emotions again, rather than rejecting and suppressing them. You have spent far too long doing so, to your great detriment. You must come to trust your companions; the friendships you can form with them will be a great strength to you, a strength that you will need. And you, more than any of your companions, must learn to accept help and be able to ask for it when you need it. You _will_ need help, Rath, as abhorrent as the idea sounds to you. Learn to recognize when you are stumbling, and don't be ashamed to reach out to your friends when you do; they can help you get back to your feet."

Rath gave no reaction to this beyond his shoulders going rigid. After a moment of watching Lukahn with icy detachment, he looked away, eyes narrowed. The other three companions, however, all looked at Rath with both surprise and confusion. Rath ignored them, and Lukahn turned, at last, to Cen. Cen spared another puzzled glance for Rath before turning his attention to Lukahn as well.

"Cen." Lukahn smiled. "Your great moment approaches quickly! You know what a great challenge this will be for you and your companions, and you understand how important it is for you to be thoroughly prepared for it. Your courage has been a great support for your companions as you've traveled, and your strength has turned the tide of many battles before now. These things will continue to be so as you go on. Just know that you can't grow complacent; continue to develop your strength and skill as you travel, and make a special effort to hone your mind as well. It will also be a great asset to you and your companions."

Cen raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Okay, that doesn't work. I don't do the whole 'smart' thing. That's what Rath and Sapphire are here for."

"What if their help isn't available?" Lukahn asked, not looking at all perturbed by Cen's interruption.

Cen, looking uncomfortable at that thought, did not answer. Lukahn went on:

"You are more intelligent than you believe, Cen. Your companions can see that already, but you must learn to recognize it yourself. You will develop this skill as you have others over the course of this quest, and your self-confidence will grow as a result. The time will come when lives will hang on your understanding of this, and you must be prepared for that time."

This rattled Cen even more. He stared down at the grass in the center of the circle. Lukahn reached over and put his hand on Cen's shoulder.

"I know you feel overwhelmed by that task. That is understandable; you have never been encouraged in such things. However, I have something I believe will be able to help you."

Cen looked up just as Lukahn reached into his robes and fetched a metal box from some hidden inside pocket. He handed it to Cen.

"This," he said, as Cen turned the box over in his hands, "is a small exercise. You may work on it at your leisure. It will help you see your intelligence for yourself and perhaps teach you other things in the process."

Cen turned the box over a few more times, examining the tiny latch that held the lid shut, then he looked back at Lukahn.

"I'll try," he said. "But I still don't think it'll work."

Lukahn nodded. "As you wish. That may change in time, however." He bowed his head for a moment, then straightened and looked around the circle. "It is time for us to end this meeting. Again, Warriors, we are grateful for your presence today, and for everything you have done and will do for this world. We only hope you will heed the advice you have received this day."

"We'll do our best, Lukahn," Sapphire said. She still sounded a bit teary.

"That is all anyone can ask of you." Lukahn got to his feet, and the companions and other sages followed suit. "I believe you have a great deal of planning to do today. You no doubt wish to reach Mount Gulg as soon as possible."

"Yeah," Cen said. "It's going to be tricky, but I know someone who can help us. We'll be able to get there okay."

"Good." Lukahn smiled. "Very good. We will pray for you as you travel."

Cen half-smiled in return. "Thanks. We're going to need it."

"Estel, take this before you leave." A tall sage stepped over to Estel and handed him something: a compass on a leather cord. "It will help you make certain you are on the right course. If you have trouble with it, I believe Sapphire will be able to help you."

"Um…" Estel looked down at the compass. Two needles spun inside it, and the markings on the edge did not correspond with the cardinal directions. "Okay. Thanks."

Lukahn shook hands with the companions again, bidding them farewell, and this time the other sages did so as well. As the Light Warriors started to leave, however, Lukahn reached out and rested his hand on Rath's arm, bringing him to a halt.

"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to speak with you for a moment more, Rath. If your companions can spare you, of course."

Lukahn smiled at the group. He sounded perfectly pleasant, but there was a slight look in his eyes that indicated Rath did not have much choice in the matter. The other companions did not see this, but Rath did, and his posture stiffened. Still, he did not protest; he just removed his arm from Lukahn's grip and stepped away from the others.

"Of course I can remain for a few minutes more, Lukahn." He looked at Cen. "Where might I find you afterwards?"

"Uh…" Cen thought for a moment. "Just down at the shore, I guess. I'd rather do the planning somewhere away from the house."

Rath nodded, then turned and followed Lukahn back toward the circle. A few other sages joined them as they went.

"What's that about?" Estel muttered.

Cen shrugged. "If it was our business, I guess Lukahn would've just said it in front of all of us." He turned and headed out of the clearing. "Come on. We have some work to do before we head home."

* * *

The sun had begun to set, its bottom rim just touching the edge of the cliffs surrounding Crescent Lake. The red and yellow of the sunset reflected in the lake's surface, so that for a moment, water, earth, and sky shone with the same vibrant hues. Sapphire, seated on the lake's pebbly shore with her knees drawn up to her chest, stared at this with undisguised awe. Cen sat nearby on a large flat stone, and though he looked out at the view as well, he did not seem to be really seeing it. Estel, after discarding his boots, had waded out into the shallows and now busied himself with skipping stones across the water. In spite of the repeated assertions that they had much work and planning to do, they had remained silent, deep in thought, since they had arrived at the shore. Only the sound of tiny waves lapping at the stones interrupted the quiet.

Finally, Cen exhaled heavily and shook his head.

"Right. We need to start working on this. We'll have plenty of time to worry about what the sages said later."

Sapphire pulled herself out of a reverie and turned to face Cen.

"Right. Yes, of course. What will we need to do?"

"If we're talking about just getting to Mount Gulg, then I already know what we need to do." Cen looked away, watching Estel continue to throw rocks and send ripples across the surface of the water. "The only way to get to the volcano is by river. The mountains are too high and dangerous to try to go on foot." He glanced at Sapphire. "Have you ever traveled by river before? Like in a canoe?"

Sapphire shook her head.

"Okay. That's what I figured." Cen began drumming his fingers on the stone beneath him. "Well, we'll have to know about Rath before we can work everything out, but…" He trailed off, his brow furrowed.

"Who's our guide gonna be?" Estel asked, wading back to shore to collect more stones and join the conversation.

"I was thinking Caine could help us, if he still lives here. He's better than just about anyone at river travel."

"Caine?" Estel frowned, rolling a few pebbles around in his hand as he thought. After a few moments, he blinked in remembrance and mild surprise. "Oh, right. Him. Yeah, he was always a decent guy, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. That's why I'm hoping he's here. We'll have to go looking for him later, once Rath shows up and we get everything settled."

Sapphire looked back and forth between the two men as they talked, a puzzled expression on her face. Before either could talk again, she interrupted, frowning.

"But, why do we need a guide? I thought you knew where the volcano is."

Cen cleared his throat and looked away in slight embarrassment.

"I know sort of where it is. I mean, you know, I can look at a map and point at it. I just don't know exactly how to get there. I mean—" He began to ramble a bit. "—it's not like I've ever really had to go there before, you know? It's no big deal. There are a lot of people around here who don't know how to get there, really, I bet most of them don't. And—ow!"

He broke off with a yelp as Estel began flicking pebbles at him. He raised his arms to shield himself.

"Hey, cut it out! What's that for?"

"Remindin' you that it's just us here, not Daddy Dearest," Estel said, throwing one last pebble. "So quit runnin' on at the mouth like that. Not like any of the rest of us know how to get there either, y'know."

Cen let his arms drop into his lap, his shoulders slumped, and he sighed.

"I'm already that bad again, huh?"

"Yes," Estel said. "Now quit it, or I'll keep throwin' stuff. I don't wanna have to spend all that time draggin' you outta this again."

Cen sighed again, scowling. He grabbed a handful of pebbles of his own and began throwing them as hard as he could out into the lake.

"Okay. So that's how we're going to get there. When do we want to leave?"

Estel flopped onto the ground between Cen and Sapphire.

"Dunno why _we_ gotta decide. As soon as Rath shows up, he's just gonna say—"

"Yes? And what will I be saying?"

Estel started so hard he nearly toppled over, and Cen and Sapphire both jumped and turned to see Rath approaching. He looked very sour indeed, his shoulders hunched and his gait rigid. He stopped directly behind Estel and glared down at him as he tried to get his composure back.

"Yes, Estel?" Rath repeated, sounding very prickly, his eyes narrowed. "What _will_ I be saying? Please, enlighten me."

Estel spluttered something unintelligible and made a twitchy, dismissive gesture. Rath persisted, however, his tone growing even more sharp and petulant.

"No, I insist. After all, every other person we have encountered today has delighted in telling me what I'm thinking and in putting words into my mouth. Why should you not do so as well?"

The other companions exchanged puzzled and alarmed looks, but none of them dared to answer Rath's question or inquire about the sudden return of his ill temper. Rath's eyes flicked over them in irritable scrutiny, then he made a huffy, derisive noise under his breath and swept around them, walking down to the water's edge. A brief, unpleasant silence settled over the group.

Cen cleared his throat.

"We, ah, just kind of figured you'd say we should leave as soon as possible. I mean, that's what you always say when we talk about things like this."

Rath shot a look back over his shoulder, then resumed staring out over the lake.

"As I doubt you will want to linger here any longer than is necessary, I do not see why my assertions of the importance of haste should be reiterated in this case. We only need time to gather what provisions we need and to chart our journey."

"Oh." Cen rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, okay. Oh, right, and that reminds me…" He gestured toward Rath. "Have you ever used a canoe before?"

Rath did not answer right away.

"I have some experience with river travel, yes."

Cen relaxed a bit. "Good. That'll make things easier. The only way to get to Mount Gulg is by river, and if you hadn't known anything about traveling that way, we would've needed to get a second guide to help."

Rath made an uninterested sort of noise, keeping his back to the others. Cen shot an annoyed look at him and seemed about to retort, but he stopped himself and shook his head instead. Still, Rath's renewed foul mood cast a pall over the group, and they all sat in silence for a while, Sapphire squirming in discomfort, Estel sifting through the pebbles beside him, and Cen fiddling absently with the box Lukahn had given him. Sapphire noticed Cen doing this and watched him for a moment.

"What's in there, Cen?" she asked, mercifully breaking the silence.

Cen looked at her, then looked at the metal box in his hands.

"I don't know. I haven't checked yet."

He undid the tiny latch and opened the lid. He stared into the box, a look of distinct confusion coming over him, and then he upended it, dumping the contents, a large number of irregularly crafted bits of metal, onto the rock in front of him. He resumed staring at them.

"Um…that, I guess. Whatever it is."

Estel did not look up from sorting pebbles, but Sapphire perked up at once and moved over to sit by Cen. She picked up a few of the pieces and studied them; they were oddly shaped, three-dimensional and straight-edged, with no patterns on their surfaces. Sapphire turned the blocks over in her hands while Cen did the same with a few other pieces, then her eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh."

"What is it?" Cen asked.

"I think it's a puzzle. See?" Sapphire picked up two of the pieces and fitted them together, a protrusion on one corresponding to a notch on the other. "You're…I guess the exercise is being able to figure out how it goes together." She pulled the two pieces apart and handed them to Cen. "Here."

Cen watched the pieces fall into his hand with a rather blank look on his face.

"How am I supposed to do _that_? I mean…" He scooped up a handful of pieces and let them fall through his fingers back into the pile. "What's it supposed to be? You can't do a puzzle unless you know what it's supposed to look like at the end, can you?"

Sapphire looked at the pile of metal with a little frown. "I…wouldn't think so… But…" She pushed a few of the pieces around. "Lukahn must have given it to you for a reason. Maybe you'll be able to do it without knowing."

Cen just gave Sapphire a skeptical look. He shook his head and began scooping the little blocks of metal back into their box. Sapphire watched him do this with a touch of disappointment.

"You should at least try," she said.

"I know. I will. Just not right now." Cen finished putting away the pieces and shut the box's lid. "Okay. Plans for tomorrow." He looked up at the others. "I'm going to go find Caine and see if he'll be able to help us. Estel and Sapphire, you two go shopping; get any supplies we're going to need for this. And," he added as an afterthought, "see if they have anything that'll help keep the heat off us. Since we're going into a volcano and everything."

"We hafta go _in_?" Estel stared up at Cen. "Since when?"

"Um…since always?" Cen said, giving Estel a rather incredulous look. "The Shrine of Earth was _in_ the earth, so the Shrine of Fire is going to be _in_ the fire. Or, you know, at least really close to it. And I kind of don't want to get turned into a cinder before we even get to the Crystal, so…"

Estel slouched. "Yeah, yeah, I get it." He started grumbling under his breath, muttering curses on caves and whichever gods thought it was a good idea to put the Shrines in them. Cen ignored this.

"Okay, so that's us. Rath…" He looked over at Rath, who continued to stare out over the lake. "Is there any prep you're going to need to do? Get new spellbooks or anything like that?"

Rath gave a curt nod.

"Okay. You'll do that, then. And then the day after tomorrow we'll leave." Cen looked around at the group. "That sound okay to everyone?"

Estel and Sapphire both murmured something to the affirmative, and Rath gave another sharp nod. Cen, looking satisfied, got to his feet.

"Well, that wasn't so hard. Come on, let's head home before Mother sends search parties out after us."

Estel gave a snort of laughter. "She would, too."

He hopped to his feet, then held his hand out to help Sapphire up. She looked at it in surprise, but then she smiled and accepted the offer.

"Thank you, Estel."

Estel beamed as he pulled her to her feet. "You're welcome."

They turned and followed Cen back toward the city. Rath, however, remained at the shore until the sun had set.


	20. Old Man River

**Chapter 20: Old Man River**

With autumn well underway, the morning of the companions' departure dawned cold, the sky clear and the stars sharp and bright. Cen woke the others just before five; he had planned to meet Caine at the canoe docks at six, so as to make an early start. Estel protested this vehemently, pointing out how ridiculous this was and that he really did not function properly at this hour, and it took quite some wheedling from Cen and Sapphire to make him hurry. As they had packed and collected most of their gear the previous evening, it did not take long for the companions to get on their way. Mira saw them off, waving from the doorstep and telling them to be careful.

Cen led the group out of the city and to the north. The lake looked calm and mirror-like in the darkness; off on the northern shore, a plume of white could just be seen as a geyser at the water's edge erupted, its quiet roar somehow enhancing rather than breaking the silence. Between the north wall of the city and the northern prong of the lake, the Crescent River began its course, flowing from the lake and out through a gap in the cliffs. Just south along the lakeshore from the head of the river, a low dock jutted out into the still water, a dozen or so canoes moored at it.

At the northern end of this dock stood a man, barely visible in the dim, pre-dawn light. As the companions drew nearer, they could see that the man was easily as tall as Cen and had a slender build. His clothes resembled those of the town sentries, loose-fitting and comfortable, and his brown hair hung free around his face. He looked toward the companions as they approached. Cen raised a hand in greeting.

"Good morning," he said, ignoring Estel's muttering that he sounded entirely too cheerful for this time of day. "Thanks again for helping us out on such short notice. Did you get everything set up okay?"

The man nodded. "I have prepared everything we will need," he said, gesturing to two of the canoes. He spoke very deliberately, his voice soft and unhurried.

"Great. Thanks. Um…" Cen frowned, looking uneasy for a moment. "Look, and are you sure you don't—?"

"The satisfaction of serving is the only payment I need," the man replied.

"Okay…" Cen looked dubious for a moment, then shook it off. "Oh, these are my other companions, Rath and Sapphire." He gestured to the mages. "Guys, this is Caine. He's going to be our guide to Mount Gulg."

Caine inclined his head to each of them. "It is an honor to meet you."

Rath nodded in return, and Sapphire smiled.

"It's good to meet you, too."

"Caine's a monk," Cen added. "He went to one of the temples that they have up in the mountains."

The group began, with Caine's assistance, to load their gear into the canoes, strapping the packs down and covering them with tarps. As they worked, Cen explained how they would be traveling along the river.

"Me and Caine got it all figured out. Him and Rath will be in the first boat, along with most of the baggage. The rest of us will be in the second. And don't worry," he added to Sapphire. "Me and Estel will deal with moving the canoe. You can just sit and be lookout."

The group got underway before the sun had fully risen. The Crescent River was wide and calm as it flowed out of the lake and into the mountains, smooth banks giving way to jagged cliffs, and it took little paddling to keep the canoes going at a good pace. In the first canoe, Caine sat at the bow and kept the boat moving, while Rath steered from the stern. Cen and Estel took these respective roles in their boat, with Sapphire sitting between them and watching the scenery scroll by. This sedate pace did not last long, however. Before the day was out, the river bent south and joined the Gulg River, flowing down from the mountains to the west. This was the river the group needed to follow to reach the volcano, and doing so required that they travel upstream.

They made very little headway in this manner. Though the Gulg River, like the Crescent, moved quite slowly, traveling against the current proved to be no easy task. This, Estel explained to Sapphire, is why it would take nearly three weeks to reach Mount Gulg, even though the distance was not very great.

"But," he added, "that'll mean we'll get back a lot faster, since the river does most of the work that way. So, y'know, it makes up for it later."

The Gulg River wound its way northward and then east, occasionally stirred up by incoming tributaries. Mountain river though it was, the flow remained wide and relatively slow, with only the occasional mild stretch of rapids to negotiate. The tree-clad Crescent Mountains came right down to the water's edge, towering up and leaving only a wide ribbon of sky visible. The smells of pine, earth, rock, and water—a cool, calming mixture of scents—saturated the crisp autumn air; judging by the pleased, serene look on her face, Sapphire could have gladly spent the rest of her life breathing in that smell. Very few level stretches of shore could be seen, but Caine knew where each one lay and how long it took to reach them, so the group always arrived at their next campsite by the time evening fell.

Difficulties in movement aside, the journey went well. As Cen had said, Caine proved to be a very adept guide; he seemed to know every rock and eddy in the river, knew when to use punts rather than oars, and could effortlessly navigate the various rapids and rough stretches of water. To the other companions' surprise, Rath adapted well to this, and he and Caine made a fine team, so much so that sometimes Cen and Estel were hard-pressed to match them. Caine certainly had the others outdone in endurance, as he was the only one of the men who was not sore and exhausted by the end of the day. The four companions boggled at this.

The relations between the Light Warriors reached something bordering on comfortable as the group went on, particularly as the grudge against Rath no longer soured things. Though there was little chance for talk during the day, in the evenings the group sat around the campfire together, Rath reading, Estel and Sapphire talking or trying to figure out his compass, and Cen muttering and frowning over the puzzle Lukahn had given him. In a rare show of interest, Rath would occasionally look up from his book long enough to take in a few words of conversation or to see if Cen had made any progress. Caine sat apart from the group, sometimes watching them but not joining with their talk or activities; more often than not he just sat playing a simple, quiet melody on a wooden flute.

This harmonious mood lasted for nearly two weeks, until the scenery changed.

At the beginning of the trip, the surrounding mountains had looked much like those around Crescent Lake: tall, tree-coated, and snowcapped. As the companions passed out of the Crescent Mountains, however, and into the directly adjacent Gulg range to the west, a slow change began to take place. The snow began to recede and soon disappeared altogether, leaving even the highest, coldest crags stark and bare. Dead trees, blackened with brown leaves and needles, began to dot the slopes, after a while outnumbering the healthy trees. The temperature began to rise, so that it nearly felt as though it was summer again. And an all too familiar heavy, deadened feeling permeated the air and settled over the occupants of the two little canoes.

Sapphire became horribly nervous as soon as she noticed all this. She again began speaking very little, letting the others' talk simply wash over her; she became fidgety and restless and started sleeping poorly once more. Sapphire's unease in turn bothered Estel, which put him off his rowing so that he nearly steered their boat into rocks or the shore more than once. Cen worked on his puzzle less and less, instead spending time sparring with Estel in preparation for the upcoming battle. Rath went back to his usual habit of wholly ignoring the others, instead remaining absorbed in his books. Only Caine showed no signs of being bothered by the sudden adverse atmosphere.

The temperature crested at a sweltering high at the beginning of their third week of travel; by mid-morning, it felt as hot as a summer afternoon, with nightfall bringing only minimal relief. The heat seemed to bake up out of the ground, bringing with it the smells of dry earth and something burning. The dead vegetation vastly outweighed the living on the slopes now, and the only fish able to withstand the heated water were the vicious, and decidedly inedible, piranhas. This left the companions with only the stores they had brought from Crescent Lake, to Estel's great annoyance; he objected to eating only dried meat and fruit, insisting they needed something with actual substance to it or they would all dry out as well.

"We won't either," Cen said, frowning at Estel as he started clearing a wide space for the campfire. The flames had started becoming hotter and harder to control as the group neared Mount Gulg, and extra precautions were now needed. "You don't dry up just from eating dried food. And besides, look." He gestured out at the burbling river. "Water. Jump in and you'll be fine."

Estel grumbled something under his breath and slouched down where he sat on the riverbank. Sapphire, sitting curled up beside him, stared blankly out at the opposite shore, faint dark circles under her eyes and her fingers picking restlessly at her sleeves. She had been doing this worse than ever lately, and the fabric along the hems had grown frayed. Estel roused from his irritation enough to watch Sapphire doing this.

"You're not gonna have any sleeves left if you keep that up, y'know."

Sapphire started, drawing a sharp breath, as Estel's words jerked her out of whatever thoughts she had been absorbed in. She looked down at her sleeves and blushed a little. She started trying to fold the ragged edges up so they could not be seen.

"I'm sorry," she said, not looking at him. "I shouldn't…I mean, I'm just…" She trailed off, biting her lip and looking suddenly teary.

This dispelled Estel's lingering annoyance at once.

"Hey, hey…" He sat up straight, leaning forward a bit to look Sapphire in the eye. "You don't gotta apologize, you just gotta calm down. Nothing's gonna happen this time, Saph, really."

Sapphire just resumed fiddling with her sleeves. Estel reached over and grabbed her hands to still them. She looked at him.

"You can't know that."

Estel shrugged. "Yeah, probably not. I can have a damn good try at makin' sure I'm right, though, huh?"

Sapphire nodded but looked away from him. Estel watched her, frowning, and after a moment he released her hands. An awkward silence fell over the pair, but it did not last long before being broken by Rath refusing to start the campfire. Almost grateful for the interruption, Estel and Sapphire turned to see what was happening.

"What do you mean, you won't do it?" Cen asked, frowning at Rath. "It's the only thing you do before you stick your nose in that book, and now you're going to duck out of even doing that?"

"'Will' has nothing to do with it," Rath replied, scowling and folding his arms. "I cannot perform this task. I doubt it will be in any way detrimental to you to start the fire manually for once."

Cen gave him a flat look. "Why _can't_ you, then?"

Rath arched one eyebrow, then raised his eyes skyward and made an exasperated noise. He lifted his hand toward Cen and began muttering under his breath. Cen's eyes widened in alarm, and he jerked out of the way.

"What're you doing? Don't point that at me!"

Rath ignored him. He finished the incantation, but, instead of a searing burst of fire, only a few wispy, pale flames curled up from his fingers, followed by thin trails of smoke. Rath sagged at once, as though this one small spell was enough to drain nearly all his energy. The companions stared.

"_That_," Rath said icily, "is why. The Fiend of Fire is usurping the force's power, and the closer we draw to her lair, the more effort I must exert to glean even the most minimal results. This effect will only grow more powerful as the Fiend remains in existence." He lowered his hand and cast a look at Estel and Sapphire, then turned to fetch a book from his pack. "We can only pray NulBlaze will remain unaffected when we reach the volcano."

Sapphire's eyes went very round and she looked away, paling. Estel started to say something to her, but then he stopped, frowned, and looked away as well. After a moment, he got to his feet and went to help Cen clear the ground and start the campfire.

Once night had fallen, the strip of sky above inky and star-spattered, Cen, Estel, and Rath all retired. Sapphire, however, remained sitting up as near to the fire as she dared, even though she did not have watch duty that night. She stared into the crackling flames, which whipped about even though there was only a light breeze, but she did not seem to be seeing them. Caine sat crosslegged partway around the fire from her, playing his usual quiet melody on his flute. After the better part of an hour had passed, he stopped playing and looked over at her.

"May I ask you a question?"

Sapphire started, not expecting to hear him speak.

"I…yes, of course."

"You are upset. Why?"

"I'm…"

Sapphire hesitated. She stared at Caine for a moment as he watched her; he looked curious, and perhaps a little concerned, not as though he was confused or annoyed by her behavior. She bit her lip and looked back at the fire.

"The last time we…we had to restore a Crystal and face one of the Fiends…one of my companions died." Her eyes flicked to Rath. "We fixed everything, of course, and he did…insist that it wasn't my fault, but…" She had to blink rapidly to keep her eyes from misting over. "I still feel awful about it. I should have been able to do something. And now that we're going to the next Shrine, I…I'm scared something like that will happen again. And I can't…"

She paused. Caine waited patiently for her to continue.

"They're so much better than me at doing this," Sapphire said at last. "All I've done so far is…" Her eyes went to Rath again. "…is make more work for us to do, and get us in trouble. I just…I keep thinking that things would be going so much better if I hadn't been chosen as a Light Warrior."

Caine gave a small, languid shrug.

"Who can tell? Perhaps, things would be worse."

Sapphire shook her head. "How could they be? I keep letting everyone down, over and over, and…" She shut her eyes, breathing deeply. "And now, they're all focusing and getting ready to face the next Fiend, and I'm just…" Another pause to take a calming breath, but her voice still quavered as she went on. "…I'm just falling apart. None of them are scared like I am."

"How do you know they are not?"

Sapphire opened her eyes and stared at Caine. He just continued to watch her with the same calm, mildly curious expression.

"But…" Sapphire looked at her companions: Rath curled up a short distance from the others, swathed in robes, hat, and blanket in spite of the heat; Cen blanketless and sprawled on his back, his mouth open as he snored; and Estel in a heap on his stomach, his blanket tangled and knotted around his ankles. Sapphire shook her head. "Of course they're not. I mean…not the way I am. They…" She trailed off, then she frowned and stared into the fire.

Caine tilted his head slightly.

"One cannot be brave without having felt fear," he said. "Just as one who has never felt sorrow does not know what it means to be joyful."

Sapphire looked up at him, her brow furrowed. He continued:

"All things in human nature are two-ended. As you feel afraid, so have they. As they have felt courage, so will you."

"…Really?"

Another fluid shrug. "Why should it not be so?"

Sapphire nodded slowly, her eyes drifting back to the fire. "I…thank you, Caine. I'll remember that."

Caine just picked up his flute and resumed playing.

* * *

The next day dawned hot and cloudless. Sapphire woke late, having remained up thinking for quite some time the previous night. As she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, Cen, seated nearby, looked over and offered her a faint smile.

"'Morning."

"Good morning." Sapphire yawned. "I haven't held us up, have I?"

Cen shook his head. "No, it's fine. We had some extra time, and we felt bad about waking you up, anyway, since you were actually sleeping good."

"Oh."

After another yawn, Sapphire started fiddling with and straightening her braid as she looked around the camp. Rath sat over by the river, hidden in the dark cloud that afforded him the only privacy he could get during this stretch of the journey. Cen had his puzzle spread out in front of him, a few pieces now connected but most still lying by themselves. In the empty space where the fire had been, Estel sparred with Caine, both wielding long staves. Caine moved with almost superhuman grace and smoothness, blocking, avoiding, and redirecting Estel's attacks, while Estel, face set, tried over and over to penetrate Caine's defense using his usual speed and force, determined to land at least one strike. Caine showed no signs of exertion, but Estel was breathing hard, and a sheen of sweat covered him.

Sapphire watched the pair as they exchanged blows, the clicking of the staves striking each other just audible over the gurgling of the river. She was so enthralled by the flowing and almost elegant exercise, in fact, that it took a few moments for her to realize that Estel did not have a shirt on. Eyes widening, Sapphire's gaze fastened onto his bare torso for a moment, then she blushed a vibrant crimson and spun around to face the opposite direction.

Cen looked up from his puzzle just in time to see this, and he could not help but chuckle. Sapphire, looking scandalized, guilty, and embarrassed all at once, frowned and shot a look at him out of the corner of her eye.

"What?"

Cen grinned. "You. You're really something else sometimes, you know that?"

Sapphire pursed her lips and looked away, fuming.

"It's not funny!"

"Yeah, it is. I mean, come on. You must've seen—"

"No, I most certainly haven't!" Sapphire said, sounding horribly offended that he would even suggest such a thing.

"Never had to examine people for your healer training, then?"

"No. I never…I mean, well, yes, but that's completely different, and I wasn't going to be a combat healer, so I didn't…I just—"

She broke off at the sound of a thud and a grunt behind her. In spite of herself, she half-turned to see what had happened. Caine had landed a blow against Estel's side, and Estel now backed away from him, wincing and with his hand to his ribs. He tried a half-aimed swing of his staff with one hand, which Caine calmly leaned back to avoid. Estel tried again, and this time Caine grabbed his hand, twisted his arm, and flipped him onto his back. He hit the dirt with a thump, and the staff, jerked from his grip, clattered down beside him. He lay there, sweating and panting for breath, and gave a half-hearted wave of surrender.

"Okay," he said in between gulps of air. "You win. Looks like I got more work to do than I figured."

Caine held out a hand to Estel, and after taking another moment to catch his breath, Estel accepted the offer and let Caine help him to his feet. Off to the side, Sapphire turned away again, now looking furious at herself for peeking in addition to everything else. Beside her, Cen looked almost ready to burst from trying not to laugh. Estel fetched his bandana and, blotting away the worst of the dirt and sweat, walked over to flop down beside Cen.

"Forgot how those monks fight. Not like trainin' with you at _all_."

Cen shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's good for you."

"I guess so." Estel rubbed his back gingerly. "Dunno why all this stuff that's good for me has to hurt so damn much, though." He shook his head, then leaned around Cen to look at Sapphire. "Morning, sleepy. Have an okay night last night?"

Sapphire nodded, not looking at him. Her face had gone so bright red that it almost seemed to be glowing. Estel frowned, puzzled.

"You okay? What's the matter?"

"It's…" Sapphire started twisting the end of her braid. "Could you…could you please go put your shirt on?"

Estel blinked, looked down at his bare chest, then looked back at the blushing Sapphire. He gave a half-disbelieving, half-smug smile.

"Why? What's wrong with this?"

"That's…it isn't…" Sapphire fumbled for a moment, trying to give voice to her indignation and embarrassment. "It's…not appropriate for you to be…like that…where I can see you. So, could you please…?" She gestured in the general direction of his bedroll and pack, making great effort not to look at him.

"Ah…" Estel nodded, some of his smugness slipping away. "So that's how it goes." He glanced over at his pack but did not move to fetch it. "They sure have some funny rules out in Elfheim."

"Sensible, I should say," came Rath's voice from inside his bubble of darkness. "I whole-heartedly agree with Sapphire. You are obscene, Estel."

Sapphire squirmed.

"Well…no, he's not…I mean, he just didn't know any better, I suppose. Right, Estel?" Her eyes flicked to him for half a second, then she snapped them shut to prevent such a slip from happening again. "You're just…used to a different way of things."

The smug look on Estel's face reasserted itself. "Oh. Oh, yeah, that's it. And, hey, it's hot out here; just tryin' to cool off a little so I don't roast to death, y'know?"

"Ah, so the amount of clothing you wear is inversely proportionate to the temperature?" Rath snorted. "You should perhaps not continue employing that theory." His dark cloud vanished, and he cast a look at the others. "Otherwise, by the time we reach our destination, Sapphire will have quite a bit more about which to be embarrassed."

Sapphire gasped, looking mortified. "Rath!"

Rath, not looking at all abashed, shrugged and went to start packing his things into his and Caine's canoe. Estel did not look quite sure how to react to Rath's comment, and he covered up his uncertainty by getting up and going to fetch his shirt as requested. Cen, on the other hand, burst out laughing.

"I knew it! You're just as bad as the rest of us, admit it!"

Rath gave another non-committal shrug. "I am merely stating the facts. That they happen to correspond with something you find humorous is purely coincidental."

"Yeah, sure…"

For the rest of the day, Sapphire found it all but impossible to look at Estel without blushing; that the one shirt he did have still had no sleeves on it did not help matters. Estel found this somewhat amusing at first, but as the day went on, he started feeling rather guilty about it and stopped trying to talk to her. Cen, when he could spare a moment, cast looks back at the pair over his shoulder, partly out of concern and partly to make sure Estel would not drop off in his steering and get them in trouble.

They reached their next campsite, a wide sandy beach on an inner curve of the river, just as twilight began to fall. According to Caine, it would take only three more days to reach Mount Gulg; Sapphire paled a bit when he said this, and she had to go sit with her head in her arms for a while. Estel, busy helping Cen try to start the fire without it exploding in their faces, kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as he worked.

"Go talk to her," Cen muttered.

Estel blinked and looked at him. "Huh?"

"Go talk to her," Cen repeated. "Either that, or pay attention to what you're doing here. I don't want to get my eyebrows burned off, thanks."

Estel mumbled something unintelligible in reply. He looked over his shoulder at Sapphire, down at the tinder, and back at Sapphire again. He sighed, frowning, then took a deep breath, got to his feet, wandered over, and plunked himself down next to Sapphire. She did not lift her head or acknowledge him. After a minute or so, he cleared his throat to get her attention. Sapphire started, looked up, and blushed when she saw him.

"Oh, um…hello, Estel."

"Hi. Hey, er, sorry about this morning. I guess I kinda wasn't thinkin' about—"

Sapphire shook her head. "It's all right. You didn't know."

"Yeah, that was…" Estel trailed off, looking a little uncomfortable. "Anyway. Yeah. Won't let it happen again, I promise."

Sapphire uncurled a bit and started drawing lines in the sand beside her.

"…Thank you."

"You're welcome. So, hey." Estel nudged her with his shoulder. "How about we try to figure out that compass some more, huh? I swear, it almost makes sense now that we know it hates bein' sweared at."

He smiled at her, and she gave a small smile in return.

"Yes, all right. Go get it, and we'll see what we can do."

The odd little compass the sages had given Estel had proven quite the enigma. It did not seem to react to any physical substance, metallic or otherwise; the two needles twirled with no apparent rhyme or reason. On a few occasions, one needle seemed to track Sapphire, and on others it pointed north, but neither Estel nor Sapphire could determine why it displayed these rare bouts of focus. They had recently discovered, however, that the compass was very temperamental; Estel, after a particularly difficult day, had had a very vocal fit of temper at it, and the needles had spun completely out of control, moving so fast that they were little more than blurs. Since that discovery, Estel had been working under the theory that the compass was alive and that swearing at it hurt its feelings. He would play this up whenever Sapphire looked particularly downcast, making a great show of talking to and pampering it, in the hopes of cheering her up. This did often work, and the compass was more well-behaved afterwards as well, buoying up the theory that it was in some way sentient and thus appreciated having a fuss made over it. Both Sapphire and Estel, however, felt they should continue studying it until they really knew what it was and how it worked. Amusement aside, they had learned very little so far.

Estel went and dug the compass out of his pack, then returned to sit beside Sapphire. The needles spun at a rather sedate pace that evening, the longer one pointing more or less northward, and the shorter wavering from pointing upstream and pointing at Sapphire. Estel cleared his throat in slight discomfort as he noticed this, but Sapphire just looked puzzled by it.

"I wish I knew why it kept doing that."

"No idea," Estel said, ignoring Cen's snort of laughter as he overheard. "Guess it must like you or something."

Sapphire smiled. "Maybe. It looks like it's working very well at the moment. Have you…" She paused, thinking. "Have you been doing anything different today?"

Estel thought for a minute. "Besides gettin' my ass kicked by Caine, not really."

"Hm." Sapphire frowned thoughtfully. "Well, there must be _something_… Here, let me see it."

She held out her hand, and Estel placed the compass in it. The two needles immediately spun around to point southward, past Estel and upstream. Sapphire blinked.

"Oh."

"Wow, it _does_ like you," Estel said, sounding impressed. "Maybe you oughta just keep it; I hang on to it and we'll just end up goin' in circles."

"Well, no… I mean, the sages must have given it to you instead of to me for a reason." She handed the compass back to him. "You just need to learn how to make it work like it's supposed to, I guess. And since it does work for me, that's why I'm supposed to help you with it."

"But we don't know _why_ it works for you."

"So that's what we need to learn." Sapphire watched the compass for a few seconds longer, then lifted her gaze to stare at the river rushing and burbling along the curve of its bed. "It must have something to do with behavior. I mean, you and I don't exactly…act alike, do we?"

Estel gave a half-smile. "I'd be pretty worried about you if you started actin' like me. Doesn't really fit you, y'know?"

"Well, yes, that's my point. Hm…"

Sapphire frowned, still staring at the river as it went by. Estel watched her for a minute, then turned to look at the water as well. He started to say something, but the sound of a small explosion interrupted him. He and Sapphire both jumped and turned to see Cen, fallen back from the suddenly large fire, coughing and waving smoke out of his face. Sapphire gasped, and she and Estel both rose and went to help Cen to his feet.

"Cen, what happened?"

"You okay?"

"Fine," Cen said in between coughs. "I'm fine. Just got that…" He waved a hand at the blaze. "…instead of a spark like I thought I would. Okay." He straightened up and looked around, raising his voice so everyone could hear him. "This is our last campfire until we're done with this, so you'd all better come enjoy it."

Estel grinned and thumped Cen on the back. "Well, when you put it like _that_, how can we say no?" He planted himself a relatively safe distance from the blazing campfire. "C'mon, everyone. Let's all sit around the fire and tell stories and, y'know, be all pally and stuff. Things like that're important, remember?"

Sapphire giggled behind her hand as she sat down next to him, again blushing in spite of herself as she looked at him. Estel looked a bit surprised at this, but quickly dismissed it. He started to speak again, but Sapphire interrupted, looking at the compass in Estel's hands.

"Oh, look! It's working!"

Estel blinked and looked down at the compass as well. Both needles now pointed upriver, the longer one doing so steadily, and the shorter with only a slight bit of waving back and forth. Estel stared at it in astonishment.

"Shit, I made it work!"

The shorter needle promptly began to drift off. Estel yelped.

"Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean to say that! Please keep workin'…"

He gave the compass a little shake. The short needle began wandering southward again. Estel sighed and relaxed a bit.

"Whew. Okay, Saph…" He turned to Sapphire expectantly. "What'd I do that was different? How'd I get it to work?"

Sapphire frowned down at the compass, looking quite puzzled, but then her eyes widened in realization and she gave a quiet "oh" of understanding.

"It…I think it's something to do with obedience. If you're following what the sages told us to do, and doing other good things, then the compass will work. If not, then it doesn't point you in the right direction."

Cen, gingerly checking himself for burns, glanced over at Sapphire with a very confused look on his face.

"So, what, they gave him a moral compass?"

Sapphire dissolved into a fit of giggles. Cen and Estel exchanged rather bemused looks, but as they both preferred a cheerful Sapphire to a gloomy one, neither spoke up. Finally, Sapphire got control of herself and sighed, dabbing at her eyes.

"Yes, Cen," she said. "That's exactly what it is. That must be why it was working better earlier, too; you had just apologized, which was a good thing, and then with me…" She trailed off, in thought and hesitation.

"You're a priestess," Estel finished. "'Course you're gonna be doin' the right things all the time. That must be why it likes you."

"Yeah, of course," Cen said, with only a little amusement in his voice. Estel jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow.

"So…" Sapphire paused again, thinking. "As long as you're doing the right thing, and following the instructions Lukahn gave us…" She tapped the edge of the compass. "…that will work just fine. If not, then…it won't."

"Huh." Estel turned the compass over in his hands a few times. "Well, that's about the damnedest thing I ever seen in my life." He gestured at Cen. "We run into Elend again, we gotta show him this. He'd love it."

Cen nodded. "No kidding."

Estel watched the compass for a minute longer, then lifted his gaze to the crackling, angry fire, and then looked out at the river.

"This's gonna be kinda hard…"

"Don't worry." Sapphire patted him on the shoulder, going a bit pink again as she did so, and smiled at him. "You have a good start at it. And I can help you if you need it, all right?"

Estel smiled back. "Yeah, okay. Thanks." He nudged her. "Hey, and even if you can't straighten me out, it'll still help keep your mind off those Fiends, right? 'S better if you don't…er…" He trailed off, looking uncertain.

"Fixate," Rath said from the other side of the fire, not looking up from his book.

"Yeah, that. Better if you don't fixate on 'em. You'll just get yourself all worried and scared, and that makes m…us worried, and none of those are good things."

Sapphire looked away from Estel, out toward the river. The moon had come out, and its pale light glinted on the water's surface.

"You…all of you are worried about all this too, though, right?" she asked after an uncomfortable minute. "It's not just me?"

Estel gave her an odd look.

"'Course it's not just you, Saph. You think we're all lookin' forward to this? No way. I can think of at least twenty different places I'd rather be than right here on our way to do this. But it's not like we got any choice, so why throw fits over it, huh? Just go in and get it over with. And we have a better chance to get ready for it this time." He nudged Sapphire again, and waited until she looked at him to continue. "It's like I been tellin' you. Everything'll be different this time, I promise."


	21. Burn For You

**Chapter 21: Burn For You**

The last few days of their journey to Mount Gulg passed all too swiftly for the Light Warriors. Though the Gulg River became narrower and swifter as they continued upstream, they still reached their destination within four days, making landfall around mid-morning near the foot of Mount Gulg.

The volcano stood off somewhat from the surrounding mountains, and though it did not quite match them in height, that it sat separated from them lent it an imposing air. Steam hissed from its bare, rocky slopes, and a thin line of ashy smoke unfurled from the crater at its summit. Some congealed lava, scattered blocks, and a layer of ash over the ground and dead trees provided testament of a recent minor eruption, but at the moment, the mountain appeared quiet.

The companions beached their canoes on the shore of the small lake from which the Gulg River sprang. Rath stared at the volcano, studying it, while the others began preparing to enter. They had bought some special heat-resistant equipment in Crescent Lake to help protect them in the volcano: gloves, vambraces, stockings, and new padding to go beneath Cen's chainmail. In addition, Sapphire had performed a successful test earlier to make certain her NulBlaze spell, which repelled heat and fire, was working properly. She was quick to point out, however, that this would not grant them immunity against the heat, and most definitely not the magma, and that they would still need to be very careful.

"Don't worry about it," Cen said, his voice muffled as he pulled on his chainmail. "We know to be careful; I mean, look at what just a campfire tried to do to us. I know I learned _my_ lesson about dealing with hot things." He strapped on his sword belt, then grabbed his pack and started rifling through it.

"Yeah, plus El told us all those stories about goin' treasure-huntin' in Hellfire Chasm," Estel added. He sat on the edge of a canoe as he pulled on his boots. "Don't gotta hear those twice to know what not to do."

"Okay." Cen straightened up and looked around at the group. "All we're bringing in there are potions and water bottles, so everyone figure out a way to carry what they need without having to hike their pack in there with them."

He went back to searching through his pack as the others set to work. After a bit more rummaging, he found what he was looking for: his shard of red crystal, its interior dark and murky. He removed the knife from his belt and inserted the crystal into the sheath instead, then set about collecting water bottles.

"…Caine?" Sapphire, potion bottles in hand, looked over at Caine as he was setting up the campsite. "Are you going to come in with us?"

Caine shook his head. "I must remain with the supplies. If something were to damage the boats, we would be unable to return to the town."

"Oh…" A worried look began to come over Sapphire, and she frowned. "Yes, of course…" She hesitated, then turned away, slipping the potions into her pockets and moving to fetch water bottles of her own.

Estel paused in his work and watched her as she did this. He frowned in thought, then took a step toward her.

"Here, Saph, lemme see those bottles. I'll fill 'em up for you."

Sapphire blinked in slight surprise, but she then smiled. "Thank you, Estel." She handed him the water bottles.

Estel smiled back and started toward the water's edge. A comment from Rath, however, brought him up short:

"Were I you, I would not do that."

Estel bit his tongue to keep from snapping, but Cen gave Rath a puzzled look.

"Why not?"

"The water here is bad," Rath replied. He had opened his own water bottles and now directed a thin stream of cold energy into each of them, filling them with ice.

Cen blinked. "The water's bad? But it's been fine the whole way up."

"Taste it, if you do not believe me."

Looking a bit dubious, Cen went to the edge of the lake, crouched, and scooped up some water. He took a swallow and almost immediately spat it back out with an oath.

"Ug, you're right! Something must have gotten into it up here."

"Acid from the volcanic emissions," Rath said. "Here." He set his own bottles aside and held out a hand. "Hand me the others; I will fill them."

Once everything was ready, the companions bade farewell to Caine, assuring him they would return by evening, and approached Mount Gulg. The mountain rumbled as they drew near it, smoke belching from the summit and small rocks tumbling down the slopes. Estel glared up at the volcano, and Rath's eyes narrowed.

"I believe we are expected."

"No kidding." Cen frowned at the mountain as well. "We'll just lay into her as soon as we get to the Crystal. Don't give her a chance to get ready. We don't want to just repeat what happened last time."

Sapphire went a bit pale and looked away, watching new steam jets burst from the ground at the volcano's foot. Estel put his hand on her shoulder and gave Cen a look.

"Don't worry about it, Saph. We're ready this time."

The ground under their feet shook, and more smoke billowed forth from the mountain's peak. Ash began to fall from the growing cloud overhead, and angry red light began to shine from the volcano's crater. Lava bombs and blocks of stone began to shoot into the air as well, the bombs leaving glowing trails behind them.

Cen swore. "Of course. Of _course_!"

"Okay!" Estel yelled. "Okay, we're comin'! Quit throwin' a fit about it, huh?"

The rumbling subsided, and the glow around the crater faded. Estel gaped.

"Shit, can she actually hear us in there?"

"Why do we not ask her?" Rath said, his tone rather snide. He turned away. "Come. We must find the entrance."

Ash continued to rain down as the Light Warriors scrambled about the mountain's base, searching for an opening. For all they found, however, they may well have had to resort to climbing to the peak and jumping into the volcano's vent. Finally, Rath found a long, narrow tunnel, partially obscured by rock and ash, piercing the mountain's side. Far off at the end of it, a faint red glow could be seen.

The group gathered around it, and Cen kicked aside some of the ash and rocks so they could enter. He stared down the tunnel, then looked back at his companions.

"Okay. Are we ready?" He glanced particularly at Estel, who had his eyes shut and was taking very deep breaths. "Estel, are you going to be okay?"

After another few breaths, Estel nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, let's just get going."

"Right. Okay, come on." Cen strode forward into the tunnel, followed by the other Light Warriors.

The heat hit them like a solid wall the moment they entered the volcano. Compared to this, the summer-like temperatures outside seemed trifling, like a candle flame before a bonfire. The air, thick and hot and suffocating, shimmered with the heat, and the stone of the cavern hissed and steamed. The red glow of the magma, bright enough now to see by, blazed up from somewhere below, lurid and scorching.

The companions stopped as they entered the large cavern, gasping as they tried to breathe in the stifling heat, sweat beading out on their faces. Rath sagged at once, sweltering inside his heavy robes and overshadowing hat. Estel began to swear, telling various deities where exactly they could stick the Fire Crystal, Mount Gulg, and the quest in general. Sapphire winced as she heard all this, but Cen just ignored it.

"That spell of yours will work in here, right, Sapphire?"

Sapphire shook off her moral indignation and nodded. She lifted her hand and murmured under her breath, red sparkles dancing around her fingertips. She spoke the last word, and the sparkles linked, forming something like a translucent red bubble. This bubble expanded until it surrounded the group, then it shrank, leaving a thin magical film over each person. The film soon faded from view, leaving behind a drastic lessening of the terrible heat of the volcano. Cen relaxed, Estel stopped swearing and instead looked only disgruntled, and Rath gave an audible sigh of relief.

"All right." Sweat trickling down his face, Cen stepped forward to the edge of the ledge on which they stood and looked around at the gaping cavern. Smoke rose up in a plume through its center. "So where do we go from here?"

"Back outside!"

"Estel, stop it."

Rath and Sapphire stepped forward to stand beside Cen, Sapphire pushing back her hood as she went. Below them, magma flowed down to the gaping hole in the center from which the smoke emanated, draining back into the chamber below. At the level of the companions' ledge, a stone ridge, wide enough for two people to walk abreast, ran around the perimeter of the cavern. Rath pointed this out.

"There is our path," he said, his usually sharp tone somewhat wilted. "The way onward will be somewhere along that."

"Oh, yes!" Sapphire pointed off to their right. "See, there's another opening."

Cen looked where Sapphire was pointing, squinting through the hazy air.

"Right, I see it," he said after a pause. "Let's get going, then. The sooner we get to the Shrine, the sooner we can get out of here."

The group started out along the ledge, walking single file and trying to avoid touching the steaming wall on their right. The heat felt even worse here, baking upward from the magma below. Reaching and entering the tunnel Sapphire had spotted eased things, however, because it sloped down and outward from the volcano, leading away from the main magma chamber and lowering the temperature to something vaguely more manageable. The group exited the tunnel, passed through a long, narrow cavern, and entered another tunnel, this one bending back toward the heart of the volcano. The temperature began to climb again.

In the next chamber, a long, winding one, magma could again be seen far below, sending up its suffocating heat. No convenient ridge ran along the wall here, however; instead, large pedestals of stone protruded at intervals from the magma below. Thanks to all the twisting and turning of the chamber, the exit to the next could not be seen from the companions' vantage point.

Cen scrutinized the situation while the others blotted the sweat from their faces.

"Do either of you know some kind of…floating spell?" he asked at length, turning to look at Rath and Sapphire.

Sapphire shook her head, and Rath gave a faded version of his withering glare.

"Float is Air magic. Use of it became impossible when the Shrine of Wind fell."

Cen glared. "Don't give me that tone. I'm not a mage; why would I know that?"

Rath started to retort, then stopped, shaking his head and turning away. Cen turned back to look at the stone columns.

"Okay, fine. Guess there's nothing else for it." He glanced back at the others. "We're going to have to jump the platforms."

Estel groaned. "Jumpin' around in this heat? You gotta be kiddin' me."

Sapphire edged to the brink and peered down at the magma with apprehension.

"Will we be able to make it across all of them?"

"I don't see why not," Cen said, once again studying the tall blocks of stone. "They're pretty close together; the farthest can't be more than six feet apart. And they're pretty big, so we can get a running start. Everyone should be able to jump the smaller gaps, and…" He turned and looked from Rath to Sapphire and back for a moment, then sighed. "I guess I can carry you two over one at a time if you don't think you can make the long jumps. Have to be careful with the armor now, though." He glanced down at his chainmail. "It's starting to heat up pretty bad. I can feel it."

"Oh…" Estel nodded knowingly and grinned. "So now you're _really_ hot, not just the way all the girls say you are, huh?" He gave Sapphire a quick wink as she blushed at his joke, then he hurried and jumped to the nearest pedestal before Cen could hit him.

Cen decided to take the moral high ground and did not pursue him. He instead turned to Sapphire as she got control of herself.

"Do you want me to help you over?"

Sapphire examined the gap again, then shook her head.

"No, I…I think I can make it."

Cen nodded. "Okay. Rath?" He turned to Rath in time to see him finishing knotting up his robes in preparation for the jump. He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I guess that answers my question. Right, you two go first; I'll take the rear."

The companions made their way, leaping from rock to rock, across the winding cavern. Cen and Estel had the easiest time of things, though Rath did surprisingly well, managing to clear even the longest jumps on his own. Sapphire, on the other hand, required assistance several times, Cen having to carry her slung over his shoulder like a sack when he made the jump himself. Finally, the group reached another ledge jutting from the cavern wall, behind which a new tunnel led to the right and down.

Estel immediately flung himself to the ground, panting and with sweat pouring off him. He opened one of his water bottles, the ice inside already completely melted, and drained half of it before speaking.

"Cen, don't take this personally, but your Shrine is a pain in the ass."

"As crude as the phrasing may be, I am forced to agree with Estel's assesment." Rath sounded awful now, his voice hoarse and his breathing very ragged as he slumped against the wall. He lifted a hand, and a bubble of darkness appeared around him. After a pause, the others could hear him gulping down the contents of his water bottles.

Cen drained half a bottle, then emptied the rest of the water over his head. The liquid hissed as it touched his armor.

"Can't blame either of you for that. Sapphire?" He looked down at Sapphire where she sat beside Estel, busy emptying one of her own bottles. "I know you don't want this kind of thing to happen, but if I die during the fight? Don't bring me back right away. I want to go find Ifrit first and ask him why he thought this would be a good idea."

The group just sat and rested for a while, trying to get their breath back. Once Rath reappeared, he refilled everyone's water bottles, Sapphire recast her NulBlaze spell, and the group continued onward into the curved, sloping tunnel.

Unlike the last chamber, the next cavern was wide and open. Several huge columns of stone, reaching from the magma below to the ceiling, stood dotted around. A wide ridge of stone surrounded each one. No path from one to another could be seen. Estel groaned as he saw this and smacked his head against the tunnel wall a few times in frustration, but Cen just gave a resigned sigh.

"Looks like this place just has one trick to it." He shook his head. "Well, okay, fine. I can play along." He started studying the columns and ridges, gauging distances in his head and frowning. The others watched him, though Sapphire kept glancing down at the magma below, now nearer than it had been.

"Okay," Cen said at last. "This'll be tougher than the last one, since we won't have quite as much running space. So…" He looked from Rath to Sapphire. "…unless you're completely, totally sure you can make the jump, I'm carrying you. It's just really lucky neither of you weigh very much, is all I can say."

The group went on, leaping from ridge to ridge. Cen made more jumps than any of the others, often returning to fetch Rath after dropping off Sapphire. They had to be more careful here with less room to get a running start or correct a poor landing; a few times, Estel miscalculated and stumbled face-first into one of the columns. No one fell short, however, even on the last and longest jump to the ledge bearing the passage onward. Cen, flushed and so overhot that he had stopped sweating, came across last with Rath. Cen struck the ledge with both feet, then fell to his knees. He sat down hard after putting Rath down, wincing and trying to stretch his cramped muscles. Estel and Sapphire were too busy drinking to speak yet, but Rath watched him, eyes narrowed.

"Okay." Cen emptied his half-full bottle over his head and drank down the contents of his third. "Done. Now everyone start praying really hard that we don't have to do anything like that again."

He started to get to his feet, but before he could do more than rise to one knee, Rath stepped forward and pushed him back to the ground. Cen landed with a thump and a grunt of surprise and scowled at Rath.

"What was that for?"

"You are going nowhere yet."

Rath's tone allowed for no argument, and Cen did not even try, instead looking baffled. Rath knelt beside Cen, studied his face, and felt his forehead. Estel and Sapphire watched this with mounting confusion, but Cen began to look annoyed again.

"Rath, what are you doing? I'm fine."

"Hardly." Rath removed his hand from Cen's head. He unslung two of his own water bottles and handed them to Cen. "Drink them both. Now."

Cen scowled. "Cut it out. I'm fine. Just fill my bottles up again and I'll drink those the next time we stop. What's wrong with you, anyway?"

A steely, unyielding look came into Rath's golden eyes. "You will drink these, and do so now. You have had scarcely as much water as the rest of us, yet you have exerted yourself twice as hard. _Drink_."

Cen opened his mouth to protest again, but before he could utter even one syllable, Rath delivered a sharp flick to his temple and snapped a word in a language the others did not know. His tone made the meaning clear, however: Cen would obey Rath's instructions or suffer something much worse than a throbbing temple. Cen stared at him, then, frowning and rubbing where Rath had hit him, he reached out and took the bottles. He opened one and began to drink. Rath, steely look still in place, took Cen's empty bottles and began refilling them with ice.

Estel and Sapphire stared at the pair of them, baffled.

"What the hell was _that_?" Estel said once he found his voice.

"A reprimand," Rath said, and continued before Estel could reply. "Finish off what you are drinking and give the bottles to me."

The pair obeyed at once.

Cen, first bottle finished, stopped partway through opening the second and stared at Rath for a moment.

"You're the oldest kid in your family, aren't you?"

Rath's expression switched from stern to furious in seconds. Cen raised a hand in a warding gesture.

"That's just the same tone Tris used to use with me all the time. I figured it was a big brother sort of thing." He opened the bottle. "You really need to relax."

Rath shot a piqued look at him but seemed somewhat mollified by Cen's explanation. He went back to ice-making, and after he finished, he shrouded himself in darkness again. The others could hear the sound of drinking coming from inside the dark bubble, and they took advantage of Rath's "absence" to exchange perplexed looks.

"He just _tries_ to not make any sense, huh?" Estel said.

Cen shook his head. "Seems like."

Sapphire stared at the bubble of darkness, frowning.

"I think he…he's trying to be nice…"

"Yeah, well, he's sure got a funny way of doing it." Cen rubbed his temple again.

"This barrier is not soundproof, you realize," came Rath's voice, sounding irritated. "I _can_ hear you."

A moment later, the darkness vanished, revealing a glaring Rath.

"I am attempting to help us reach the Crystal and the Fiend without succumbing to heat exhaustion. If you presume I harbor an ulterior motive, you are sorely mistaken."

He got to his feet, murmured something, and waved a hand toward the others. A rush of cold air flowed over them, repelling the heat. Sapphire shut her eyes and gave a sigh of relief, as did Estel, and Cen relaxed as his armor cooled. As quickly as it came, the coldness vanished, taking its brief respite with it.

"Now," Rath said, "we may go."

The next tunnel led to another winding chamber, but this one had wide ridges once more lining the walls, and long, arched bridges of stone connected wall to wall, spanning the magma below. Though this way they had to walk for sometimes lengthy distances with the magma directly below them, sending up its scorching heat, they preferred this greatly to hopping from stone to stone and risking exhaustion or a fall into molten rock. This chamber went on longer than any of those previous and led to another much like it, with ridges and arches of stone to traverse over the magma, which looked nearer than ever. At the end of each of these caverns, Rath insisted the group stop and each person completely empty all their water bottles, whether through drinking them or dumping the contents over themselves. None of the others contested the necessity of this.

The tunnel at the end of the second winding room had a much steeper grade than the others. Cen, in the lead, proceded along it cautiously, but without warning it became glass-smooth and nearly vertical, and he slid down with a shout. The other companions hurried forward to find out what had happened, and slipped and tumbled down as well.

The tunnel curved and twisted like a massive snake. The clatter of Cen's armor, shield, and sword striking the glassy sides made an awful, echoing din as the companions hurtled toward the tunnel's end. Finally, a blaze of red appeared before them, and the tunnel wall coarsened; Cen dug his heels and elbows in, dragging himself to a stop so he did not shoot from the tunnel like a bolt from a crossbow. He halted just before the tunnel's end, then braced himself as the other three Warriors slammed into him.

"Ohh…" Sapphire groaned. "Oh, that hurt…"

"Sorry 'bout that, Saph."

"Cen, what is below us?" Rath called from the rear. "Can we exit safely?"

Wincing, Cen looked down. The tunnel exited from a ceiling at an angle; had Cen not halted them, the companions would have shot out, skidded across the huge block of stone beneath the tunnel opening, and in all likelihood fallen into the magma, which flowed and bubbled less than twenty feet below the lip of the stone block. Cen shut his eyes for a moment, breathing deep and thanking all the gods he could think of, then he called back to Rath.

"There's a rock under us. A big one. The drop's only about…" He eyeballed the distance. "…about eight feet. Maybe nine. I'll drop down—you guys all brace your feet in so you don't fall—then you scoot down and join me. I'll catch anyone who doesn't just want to fall and hit the rock."

He relaxed and slid forward, down and out of the tunnel and to the large block below. Above, Sapphire yelped as she began to slip, but Estel, his feet dug hard into the gritty stone, caught her around the waist to keep her from falling. Cen looked up at her and held his arms out.

"Okay, Sapphire, come on down. I'll catch you."

Sapphire looked down, biting her lip, then nodded back at Estel. He let her go, and she slid down and landed right in Cen's arms. She smiled her thanks as he set her down, and he grinned in return, then jumped out of the way as Estel came shooting out, tumbling as he hit the stone and hopping to his feet. He gave a sweeping bow, and Sapphire giggled and applauded. Rath tumbled out with a distinct lack of flair or dignity, clutching his hat on his head and stumbling as he struck the rock.

With everyone safely down, Cen turned away to check the cavern. Stone bridges spanned out from the rock to connect to wide paths of solid rock set in the magma. Beyond that, just visible through the hazy, shimmering air, more bridges led to large openings carved in the rock of the chamber's outermost wall. Cen turned slowly, looking around at these eight paths and frowning. The others left him to his contemplation, taking the opportunity to take long drinks from their water bottles.

"So what d'you think?" Estel asked after a minute or so.

"I'm…not sure," Cen said, still frowning. "I keep getting this feeling that it's this way, though." He pointed to one of the bridges leading off a corner of the stone. "I don't know why I feel like that's right, but I do."

"It's guidance," Sapphire said. "From the gods and forces. They're helping us."

Estel looked upward.

"Thanks for that. Next time we gotta go in a place like this, though, could Shiva please come down and play tagalong? That'd be even _more_ helpful."

Sapphire did not quite know whether to be amused by this prayer or not, and so just blinked at Estel in slight puzzlement. Cen, on the other hand, grinned.

"Yeah, I'll second that. Knowing which way to go works just fine for me too, though. Come on, let's get going."

He led the group across the bridges and path and into the yawning opening, past which was a broad tunnel. They turned a corner, and set in the wall they found a tall metal door like that which they had seen in Jord Cave: the entrance to the Shrine. A heavy latch held it shut, and the metal glowed a dull red.

Sapphire went very pale for reasons that had nothing to do with the heat. Estel watched her with concern, while Cen and Rath both examined the door.

"I can't open that," Cen said. "It'd melt my hands off."

"That can be prevented. For the moment, we must prepare; after that, we can contend with this matter."

Rath proceded to do his rounds of making everyone drink all of their water, and this time he distributed potions as well, along with ethers—the pale blue sugar cube items—for himself and Sapphire. Sapphire went from white to crimson as he handed her one, and he gave her an incredulous, exasperated look.

"You cannot be serious."

Sapphire mumbled something. Rath lifted his gaze to the ceiling.

"I should not have expected otherwise. Very well." He waved a hand, and a bubble of darkness surrounded Sapphire. "Is that satisfactory?"

"…Yes."

Rath made a derisive little sound under his breath, but then conjured a shroud of darkness for himself as well. Cen and Estel exchanged looks.

"You're both crazy," Cen said to the blobs of darkness. "You know that, right?"

"I thank you for that assessment," Rath said icily. A moment later he reappeared and waved away the shadows around Sapphire. "However, we currently lack the time to discuss my and Sapphire's mental states. We have a more pressing matter at hand."

He turned to the door, lifted a hand, and muttered something. A burst of clear, sparkling cold flew from his hand and struck the door, extinguishing the red glow and covering the metal with thick frost. The metal groaned.

Rath stepped back. "Break it down," he said to Cen.

Cen started to protest, but then he caught sight of Rath's glare and changed his mind. He backed up as far as he could, then charged forward and slammed into the door. Made brittle by the sudden cold, the metal shattered, and Cen tumbled into the chamber beyond. Estel and Sapphire hurried forward to help him up.

The heat skyrocketed from what it had been just out in the tunnel, leaving the companions suddenly gasping for breath once more; Sapphire hurried to recast her NulBlaze spell over them. Unlike Lich's chamber, this room had no rock formations to speak of, aside from two large, broad cones like miniature volcanoes toward the rear. The Altar, on the other hand, looked identical to that in Jord Cave, except that the massive, cracked Crystal had a red tinge to it rather than a yellow one. Aside from these three features, the large chamber was empty. Nothing could be seen of the Fiend.

Cen took a tentative step forward, his hand on his sword hilt. The others followed him and looked around, Sapphire doing so with reluctance, but they could see no one besides themselves in the chamber. Cen frowned in suspicion.

"Looks like nobody's home."

Just then, a voice spoke up from behind one of the cones.

"_There_ you are!" Definitely female, the voice sounded throaty and almost alluring, though also, at the moment, angry. "It took you long enough to get here!"

From behind the cone emerged a woman's head, almost perfectly human aside from her fiery orange skin, crowned with golden hair done up in elaborate, rigid spikes. Her bare shoulders and arms, ringed with gold bangles, appeared next, and she folded them atop the cone's flat peak. She was strikingly beautiful, something the companions had not expected in the least, and it was obvious even at a distance that should this woman stand up straight, she would be nearly twelve feet tall. Her eyes, glowing like hot coals, stayed fixed on the Light Warriors.

"So, you're the ones," she said, her voice at once lovely and harsh. "You're the ones who killed Lich and woke me from my slumber." Her face twisted in anger, and she straightened up a bit. "How could you?! How could you do something so _awful_?!"

"I…what?"

Cen stared, looking as though he had just been slapped in the face. Estel and Sapphire shared similar looks of confusion, and Rath raised an eyebrow. The Fiend continued her rant.

"You ruined everything! He and I were so close to each other; he was my favorite, and I was his, out of all of us. He had promised to be here waiting for me when I awoke. We were going to spend my first moments of freedom together." Gleaming drops of liquid fire fell down her face: the Fiend was crying. "It was going to be so wonderful, and you ruined it! You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

The companions looked less ashamed than deeply confused. Estel alone looked vaguely guilty, though this may only have been an instinctive reaction to seeing a woman cry because of something he had done. Cen glanced at Rath, who just rolled his eyes, then turned back to the Fiend.

"Yeah, sorry, but it was either him or the rest of the world. Besides, he started it."

The Fiend sniffed and flicked away her tears. "I knew you wouldn't feel any remorse. You're all heartless." She looked at Sapphire, who gave a squeak of fear and half-hid behind Estel. "_You_ should understand, at least. You lost someone in that cave as well. You know how much it hurts."

Sapphire flushed and did not answer. Estel, however, began putting together what the Fiend had said, and a look of disgust started to come over him.

"Her and Lich…? Urg…"

The Fiend gave a haughty toss of her head.

"As if _you'd_ appreciate it, little boy. You wouldn't know what to do with me."

Estel spluttered, but the Fiend went on, sparing him from having to reply.

"Even if I wasn't going to kill you anyway, I would just because you killed Lich."

She unfolded her arms and rose up, revealing more bare skin, with only a scant strip of too-tight fabric across her ample chest to preserve any kind of modesty. Cen and Rath blinked and suddenly became unable to look directly at her. Estel stared for a moment, gaping, but then he cringed and shot a very guilty look at Sapphire before resolutely looking at anything except the Fiend. Even more shocking than the Fiend's attire, however, were the four other bangle-adorned arms that came into view as she pushed herself upright.

"You have Marilith, mistress of fire, to deal with now, Light Warriors. And if you can barely survive my home, how can you think to survive me in my anger?"

With the rasping sound of scales against stone, Marilith moved from behind the cone and revealed her lower half to be not that of a woman, but the sinuous body of a monstrous snake. She slithered toward the Light Warriors, eyeing them, and a glint came into her eyes as she examined Cen. A crooked smirk twisted her lips.

"Hm… Or maybe I'll leave you. You could be a…replacement for what you took from me. I'm sure Brother and Sister wouldn't mind."

Cen managed to look both confused and appalled. "What?"

Marilith did not answer. She slid around behind the companions, a thoughtful look on her face. Cen and Sapphire turned their heads to watch her, and Rath turned around completely, not letting her get behind him, but Estel kept his eyes firmly in the opposite direction. The glint in Marilith's eyes became stronger and stronger.

"Oh yes, we could have _so_ much fun together…"

"I don't think so," Cen said, keeping his narrowed eyes on Marilith and trying to kick Estel into paying attention.

Marilith moved back in front of the group and bent down so her face was level with Cen's. Her eyes gleamed, though she stuck out her lower lip in a pout.

"Oh, don't you want to play with me? I _know_ you'd have a good time…"

She reached out and stroked Cen's cheek, and her fingertips left thin burns in their wake, an angry red against Cen's skin. Cen looked a bit lost for a moment, his eyes glazing over, but he shook himself out of it and backed away, drawing his sword. The mythril blade glinted in the red light. Another smirk twisted Marilith's mouth.

"Ooh, very nice. And are you any good with that sword of yours?"

Rath grimaced at this comment, and Estel looked up at Marilith in disgust.

"Very," Cen said. "What about you?"

Marilith's smile grew smug and enticing, and she ran her tongue out over her lower lip. "Oh, I'm an _expert_. Here, I'll show you."

"Oh no, you won't!" Estel roared, almost flailing with revulsion. "Cen…!"

"Estel, shut up!" Cen hissed back.

Marilith laughed, a high-pitched, shrieking sound. She slithered away from the companions, crouched, and pressed her six hands to the stone. It melted at her touch, and she reached down as far as she could, all the time keeping her eyes on the companions. She then straightened, molten stone dripping off her arms, and in each hand she now held a sword, some straight, some serrated, some curved and hooked. She spun them, twirling them and tossing them from hand to hand, then adopted a complicated battle stance.

"Come dance with me, Warrior," she purred, and then she lunged.

Rath cast Haste just in time, and Cen, motions blurred and quickened, charged forward to meet the Fiend. Sparks and flame flew as her six blades rained down on his blade and shield, and though he parried each strike, his sword a gleaming silver-blue blur, she began at once to press him backward, and step by step he lost ground to her. Marilith did not laugh, but her leer remained in place.

"I hope you can keep up with me. It would be so embarrassing for you if you died too soon. So anti-climactic. Not to mention no fun for me."

"Oh shut _up_!"

Cen tumbled out from Marilith's flurry of blows and slashed at her flame-colored tail. Marilith shrieked and jerked away, then resumed her assault with redoubled force.

With a flash of green, another Haste spell sped Estel as well, and despite embarrassment, he drew his sword and ran out to help Cen. But dividing Marilith's attention did nothing to impair her; her eyes alight, she swung her blades from one to the other and back, ricocheting strikes and worsening her onslaught. She pursued the pair around the chamber as they continued to yield ground to her. The sound of metal striking metal filled the broiling hot air.

"Protect them," Rath said to Sapphire, then he pressed his hands together before him as though in prayer. He began muttering under his breath, and the temperature around him plummeted.

At once, Sapphire began murmuring her own spell. She held her hands out toward Cen and Estel, and a flicker of gold showed around them as Protect closed over them, shielding them from Marilith's fiery swords. A blade, bounced off Estel's saber, struck Cen in the side, but it just ricocheted away again, knocking Cen down but not cutting him. He rolled out of the way as Marilith brought all her blades whistling down toward him; they missed him by an inch. Cen jumped to his feet and charged again. Marilith grinned a snake-like grin, tongue darting out to lick her lips.

"Very good. I can tell you spend a lot of time practicing with your weapon."

Cen did not dignify this with an answer.

Rath, a chill blue glow around him, parted his hands and thrust them outward; shards of ice shot from the air in front of him and flew like arrows across the chamber. They slammed and tore into Marilith's side, ripping through her scales and drawing boiling blood. Marilith shrieked and writhed, the temperature shooting upward, and she spun her arms out like a windmill, knocking Cen and Estel away with all her force before they could attack her when vulnerable. They struck the walls, Estel curling up as he fell, but Cen landed on his leg and, with a crunch, it broke. He cried out as he collapsed. Marilith advanced on him, blood dribbling from the gashes in her side and tail.

"That's all it takes to stop you? How disappointing. Come on, let's have some more fun. You can't die yet!"

She scooped him up on the flats of her three widest blades, then her eyes flared red and the blades began to glow almost white with heat. It baked through all the protective layers and right to Cen's skin, and he screamed in pain. In desperation, he flung himself off the swords and fell to the ground with a crash. His armor glowed dull red. Marilith shrieked with delighted laughter.

"Much better! I knew I could make you scream! Let's—"

She broke off with a hiss as Estel ran at her from behind and slashed at her back. She whirled around, knocking him away with the flat of a blade, then followed him to where he fell and rose again, ready to defend himself. Her blades flickered and danced, and he darted before her, parrying and dodging, sweat dripping down his face.

With Marilith occupied, Rath crossed the chamber to where Cen lay, and a wave of cold preceded him, cooling Cen's armor. Sapphire, eyes darting from Estel to Cen and back, ceased casting Protect, ran to Cen, and knelt at his side. Strong blue-green light flowed from her hands and over him; his burns and broken leg healed in seconds, and Rath and Sapphire hauled him to his feet.

Marilith knocked Estel back with the flat of a blade again, and he tumbled as he hit the ground. And as he scrambled to his feet, Marilith drove one of her swords into his stomach; it punched out through his back, impaling him. His eyes widened in a look of surprise. Marilith's mouth twisted into a cruel smile.

"I knew you weren't as good as your friend there; I knew _you'd_ die too soon to be much fun. Such a shame."

She jerked the sword free. Estel stumbled forward a step, blood pouring from the ragged wounds and down his legs. He remained upright for a moment, then he crumpled to the ground. Marilith turned her back on him.

Sapphire saw all this, her eyes wide with horror, and as she watched Estel fall, her hands flew up, shaking, to clutch her face, and she screamed.

"NO! No, no, no, no, _no_!"

She ran toward him, but Marilith slithered out to block her path, swords ready. One blade swung down, swatting Sapphire aside with the flat edge. She landed in a heap, crying and barely steady enough to try to regain her feet. Marilith slid after her, but before she could attack again, Rath intervened. Muttering rapidly, he swung his arm back and threw a bright orb of blue light as though he was pitching a ball. The orb zoomed through the air and exploded in Marilith's face in a burst of stars, sparks, and fluttering shapes. Marilith reared back high on her tail with a screech, flailing and swatting at the shapes around her head. Her eyes went glassy and wide, and in her confusion, she sliced into herself with her own swords.

Rath rushed over to Sapphire and jerked her to her feet.

"Go to him," he snapped, pushing her toward Estel's form. "Go!"

She went.

Cen started to run toward Estel as well, but Rath grabbed him and held him back.

"No. We have another task." He gestured to Cen's sword. "Hold out the blade."

Sapphire fell to her knees by Estel's body. She pushed his hair out of his eyes and cupped his face in her hands.

"Estel? Estel!"

His eyes, growing glassy, went to her. She sighed, almost sobbing, pressed her hands over the horrible gash in his stomach, and began a spell. The healing light flowed.

Marilith, swords fallen, writhed in a ball across the ground, trapped in the throes of Rath's spell. She struck a wall, and the impact knocked her from her trance; she uncurled and straightened, furious and breathing hard. She scooped up her swords and twisted around toward Cen and Rath, raising the blades for a whirlwind strike, but stopped as she saw what they were doing: Rath, murmuring a spell, pressed his fingertips against the blade of Cen's sword. Instead of attacking, Marilith lowered her swords and shrieked with laughter.

"Ooh, now that _is_ fun! I didn't know things went like _that_! Don't mind me, you two go ahead and finish; I'll just wait here and watch!"

Cen snarled and had to bite his tongue to keep from bellowing insults at her, and Rath's hands half-clenched convulsively as anger flared in his eyes. He finished his spell, the blade glowing a crystalline blue, and stepped away.

"I think," he said through clenched teeth, "a certain degree of overkill is needed."

Not needing to be told again, Cen turned and charged, and Marilith's fiery swords met with his icy one in a shower of sparks. Marilith's peals of laughter did not stop.

"Good! Good! Now let's really see what you can do with that sword of yours!"

Blades swung and flew and danced, bursts of heat and cold exploding through the air, and now Cen gave no ground to the slithering Fiend. They fought at a stand-still, and their swords swung with such speed that they looked like little more than gleaming blurs.

Then Marilith reared back, howling, as a throwing knife embedded itself in her shoulder. She whirled around and saw Estel, whole and well, propped up with Sapphire beside him and another knife ready in hand. Marilith lunged at them, one blade smashing Sapphire away and another swinging back to sweep Estel's head from his shoulders. But before the blow could fall, Marilith jerked to a halt, the look of surprise on her face now, and she looked down to see the tip of a mythril sword protruding from between her breasts.

Cen, standing on the small of her back, hooked his free arm around her neck and squeezed hard, making her cough.

"Say 'hi' to Lich for us."

He released her neck and twisted the sword.

The infused spell sprang to life, and spears of ice sprouted from the blade, shredding Marilith's torso. Marilith writhed, howling and clawing at her back to dislodge the sword even as she was torn asunder. With a last echoing, horrible wail, Marilith shattered completely, bursting into a million bits of ash and flame.

The temperature of the chamber dropped at once.

Cen clambered to his feet, brushing Marilith's remains off him. He retrieved his sword and returned it to its scabbard.

"Everyone okay?" he asked, looking around. "Estel?"

Estel, stumbling upright as well, looked up, grinned, and flashed a victory sign at Cen. Then he nearly toppled back over as Sapphire all but flew across the cavern and flung her arms around him. Estel yelped and staggered backward a few steps.

"Saph—!"

"Oh, you scared me so much!" Sapphire sounded almost in tears. "Don't you ever let anything like that happen ever again!"

Estel stared down at her with round eyes, then, unable to help himself, he grinned and embraced her.

"Hey, don't be upset. I promised everything'd be okay this time, didn't I?"

Cen watched this with amusement, but Rath interrupted by clearing his throat.

"Need I remind you…?" He gestured toward the Crystal.

"Oh." Cen blinked. "Oh, right." He reached down and began fumbling with his knife scabbard, trying to extract the shard from it.

Sapphire's grip on Estel eased somewhat, but she did not release him. She sniffed, trying to rub away the few tears that had escaped.

"That…that…" She scowled. "That was so stupid! _She_ was stupid! None of what she said made sense, and why did she keep talking about swords so much? It was all just…" Her scowl deepened, and she shook her head and buried her face against Estel's shoulder. "It was stupid."

The three men paused and exchanged looks.

"Yeah," Estel said, finally breaking the silence. "Yeah, Saph, that _was_ stupid."

"Completely stupid," Cen agreed, nodding. "I didn't get any of it either."

"Ridiculous," Rath said, his tone perfectly level and calm. "So much so, in fact, that I believe it would be to our great benefit if we never spoke of it again."

Cen and Estel both offered very vociferous agreements to this.

"Okay," Cen said, getting ahead of a potential awkward pause. "Crystal time."

He removed the shard from its little scabbard and went over to the tall Crystal in the center of the room. He only had to search for a few seconds until he found the chink, and, with a glassy scraping sound, he slid the shard into place.

Inside the Crystal, a bright red light suddenly blazed, pulsating brighter and brighter; with a final, blinding flash, the mended Crystal lit completely, flooding the room with blood-colored light that flickered like a blaze of flame. A flash of light came from the crater below, and a smaller, glowing replica of the Crystal flew out to hover before Cen. He took it, and a moment later, the companions vanished from the cavern.

When they reappeared outside, it was snowing.


	22. Revelations

**Chapter 22: Revelations**

The return trip to Crescent Lake passed much more quickly than the journey to Mount Gulg, and not only because the journey was downstream. Surviving a volcano and defeating a Fiend without suffering death or trauma had the companions all in good spirits, even Rath to an extent. Though the temperature had dropped sharply as autumn drew to an end, they did not mind it, and in fact enjoyed the change, spending the evenings bundled up around their now well-behaved campfire. According to Estel, however, there was still training to be done, though of a rather different nature.

"Dancing?" Sapphire said, looking puzzled.

Estel nodded. "Dancin'."

"Why?"

"Because I know Mira," Estel said. "She's gone out and told everyone in her little embroidery circle that we're the Light Warriors and what we're doin'. And she's told everyone at church, and everyone she sees out shoppin', and by now…" He gave a sage nod. "…the whole city knows. And that means that when we get back, they're gonna throw a huge party for us. And parties mean dancin'. And you don't know any of the dances they do out here, so I'm gonna teach you."

"…Oh."

"You're going to want to watch this," Cen muttered to Rath. "I bet it'll get even _you_ to laugh."

Estel glared. "Hey!"

Cen cleared his throat, pointedly not making eye contact, and went back to working on his puzzle.

Things did not turn out to be quite the disaster Cen had made it seem they would. Estel proved to be a fair teacher, and Sapphire did her best to learn as much as she could in the short amount of time they had. She did have a habit of getting giggle fits whenever she misstepped or she and Estel got tangled up, but Estel did not seem to mind. If anything, he found this encouraging and occasionally shot a triumphant look at Cen. Cen never responded with anything more than a non-committal shrug, however. Still, the lessons were enjoyable, if not always productive; Cen would even get involved sometimes, when he was not busy with his puzzle. Rath, not surprisingly, always declined invitations to join in. This did not stop Estel from pressing the matter, however.

"Aw, c'mon, Rath, please? It's a group dance, we need four to do it right."

"No. I would only be labeled a second female and be made to dance with _him_." Rath pointed at Cen. "And, for as many _actual_ women who would no doubt swoon at that opportunity, I am decidedly less enthusiastic."

"Good thing," Cen said, then he paused as an idea struck him. He affected a dubious expression. "Well, I guess _I_ could be the girl, but…" He put on a horrendous, breathy falsetto voice. "…I really don't think I'm the type, do you?" He batted his eyelashes and simpered.

Estel and Sapphire both nearly fell over, laughing and clinging to one another for support. Rath winced, but then a smirk flickered in his eyes and he recovered, looked over at Cen, and replied, deadpan:

"Actually, that does rather suit you."

This was too much for Sapphire and Estel; torn between amusement at the comment and shock that it had come from Rath, they could now scarcely breathe, almost crying with laughter. Cen choked at first, stunned, but then he too burst out laughing.

"Ha! So there _is_ a sense of humor under that hat! I knew it!"

Rath shrugged and did not reply, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes as he turned his attention back to his book.

After about a week and a half of travel, the group arrived back at Crescent Lake, just before sunset. They unpacked their gear and bade farewell to Caine at the canoe docks before they returned to the city.

"Thanks again," Cen said. "We couldn't have got this done without you."

Caine gave a small smile, the largest show of emotion the companions had seen from him, and bowed.

"It was a privilege to be able to serve you. Take care on the rest of your journey."

"You take care too, Caine," Sapphire said, smiling.

As Estel had predicted, the Light Warriors entered the city of Crescent Lake to find that everyone now knew of them and their quest, and that a large celebration had indeed been planned, scheduled to take place the day after their return. While this was certainly exciting, the group was mobbed so much in the streets that it took over an hour just to get from the main gate to Cen's house. Many of the young women who approached looked especially interested in Cen and Estel, and while Cen was obviously pleased by this, Estel kept glancing at Sapphire and tried to look as though he was not enjoying the attention too much. Some young men also tagged after Sapphire, but they only received a politely confused expression from her for their trouble.

Finally, the group managed to shake off the mobs, and they fled to Cen's house and ducked inside. Before anyone could comment on this sudden popularity, Mira entered from the kitchen, beaming and looking both thrilled and relieved.

"Oh, you're back! I was getting so worried!"

She rushed over to Cen and seized him in a bone-breaking hug, just as Tristan had upon their return to Melmond. This effectively knocked the wind out of him, and he started coughing as he tried to breathe again. Estel had to choke back a laugh, but found it less amusing when Mira turned her attention to him. Sapphire took her turn with good-natured resignation, looking very grateful that Mira restrained herself somewhat with people who were not family, but Rath was as thoroughly disturbed as before, cringing at her touch and his eyes widening in alarm.

"I'm so proud of all of you," Mira said, releasing a now very rattled Rath and smiling around at everyone. "And you're all quite all right, aren't you?"

"We're all fine, Mother," Cen said. "We didn't have any trouble at all."

"Of course not," Mira said, though she again looked very relieved. "I knew you wouldn't, but I still just have to ask. Oh, and have you heard?" She beamed. "They're having a festival in your honor! It will be on the University grounds tomorrow night."

"Yeah, we heard about that," Estel said. "Kinda a lot, actually. And that means we better get some shut-eye now, 'cause the gods only know when we'll get back from that party." He grinned. "I figure we deserve a chance to kick back by now, huh?"

Mira smiled. "Of course."

"Ah…Father isn't home, is he?" Cen asked, glancing around.

"No, he's not," Mira said, and Cen gave a quiet sigh of relief. "He's had a lot of meetings at work lately, so he hasn't been home much. Convocation is less than a month away now, and you know he's always busy around then."

"Right. Well, I think Estel had a good idea, so…" Cen started toward the curving staircase. "We're going to go get some sleep. We've had a long trip." He paused by Mira. "We'll tell you about what happened before we head out for that party tomorrow."

Mira smiled and gave him another squeeze. "All right. Sleep well, all of you."

* * *

The Light Warriors left the house—Mira would be joining them later, and Idren was still not home—shortly after sunset the next day, the sky in the east now dark but the west stained red and gold by the fading sunlight. They had cleaned themselves up for the celebration, save for Rath, who looked as battered as ever. Sapphire wore a pretty, dark red dress Mira had insisted on lending her, and Cen had even tried, but failed, to make his wiry blond hair do something besides stick out in every direction. Estel had abandoned his bandana for the evening, and he had a new shirt, as his other had been shredded beyond repair by Marilith. He and Cen also wore long coats rather like Idren's, partly for protection from the chilly air and partly for appearances. It worked, too; they both looked quite dashing.

As they made their way along the flagged road that ran parallel to the University complex's tall white wall, Estel lagged behind, and he grabbed Cen's arm and pulled him back as well.

"Gotta talk to you for a sec."

"What about?"

"About tonight. I'm gonna talk to Saph. Like, you know…" Estel cleared his throat and nodded forward at Sapphire.

Cen glanced from Estel to Sapphire and back. He frowned, looking dubious.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I just, uh." Estel cleared his throat. "Haven't decided how to say it yet."

"And you're sure this's a good idea?"

Estel scowled. "'Course I'm sure. Haven't you been payin' attention to all this?"

"To all what?"

"Don't ask silly questions." Estel's expression shifted from scowl to grin with nearly impossible speed. "It's workin' out, Cen. Just you watch. But—" He gave Cen a stern look. "—_don't_ tell her. I wanna make it a surprise."

Cen started to reply, but before he could speak, Estel trotted on ahead of him to fall into step with Sapphire. Cen shook his head and sighed, watching the pair with a slightly pained look on his face.

"Excited?" Estel asked.

Sapphire looked up at him and smiled. "Yes, I am. I think this will be fun."

"Good." Estel took her hand for a moment and gave it a squeeze. "You're gonna like this tonight. Crescent Lake really knows how to throw a good party."

It looked as though nearly the entire town had turned out for the celebration. The event took place in the large, grassy square in the center of the University complex; ground had been cleared for the huge bonfires that now dotted the green to provide both light and warmth, and long trestle tables stood off to the sides, laden with food and drink. A mismatched band had been scrounged up and now played, loud and lively, while people danced in an open area in the center of the green. Around the dance floor, those not dancing ate and drank or stood and chatted, and others, mainly young couples, secreted themselves away into whatever shadowy niches they could find. Children, delighted at this wonderful excuse to stay out late and play, laughed and chased one another through the crowds.

"There you are!" a voice said as the companions arrived at the green. Valette, the dark-haired young woman who had greeted the group on their arrival to Crescent Lake, hurried toward them, weaving through the crowd. "We've been waiting for you!"

"Aw, c'mon, you know us," Estel said with a grin. "We always gotta be late for stuff. Makes a better entrance."

Valette laughed. "True! But, come on…" She took hold of Cen's wrist and started pulling him through the crowd; the others hurried after them. "You need to get up where everyone can see you; they're all expecting you to give a speech."

"A speech?" Cen began to pull back, looking suddenly nervous. "Ah, Valette, you know I'm not any good at that kind of thing."

"It doesn't have to be much," Valette assured him. "Just a few words about what you're doing and saying thank you, that sort of thing. And if you just do it now, it will be over with right away and you won't have to worry about it later."

"Well…"

"Ah, go on, Cen," Estel said, trotting along behind him and grinning. "Go for it. I promise I won't make fun from the audience, even."

"Thanks," Cen said, casting a flat look over his shoulder.

They reached one of the food tables, beside which loitered a group of youths, drinking and laughing. Valette approached one of them, a tall and lanky young man with shocking blue hair, and shook his shoulder.

"Mag, they're here."

"Oh yeah?" The young man turned and grinned at the companions. "Ha, so they are. Didn't figure you two would ever turn back up," he added, looking at Cen and Estel.

"Well, not like we had a choice," Cen said, shrugging.

"Gods, Mag, what'd you do to your head?" Estel asked, staring at Mag's hair.

"Hey, watch it, or we'll make you get up here and talk too," Mag threatened. He turned back to his friends. "Come on, let's clear a spot."

They went to the table and started moving things off it, leaving a bare space right in the middle. Those people who stood nearby noticed the flurry of movement and turned to watch what was going on. Once enough space had been cleared, Mag and the others moved away, and Valette motioned for Cen to climb up. Cen hung back, looking uneasy.

"Look, I don't know—"

Estel started to say something, but Rath interrupted.

"Cajoling will obviously not work here," he said, arms folded and eyes narrowed in something like amusement. "I believe we must take a more active stance."

He held up a hand, and a puffball flame appeared in his palm. Rath then began compressing and shaping it until it was a tiny, blazing white orb the size of a large marble. With a flick, the orb shot skyward with a whistling noise, then exploded in a shower of white sparks. This captured most of the crowd's attention, and they started to turn and peer toward where the exploding ball had come from.

Rath gestured toward the table. "Put Cen up there."

Estel and Mag set to this task with gusto, and before Cen could do more than splutter a few unintelligible protests, they had pushed, kicked, and lifted him up to stand on the tabletop. The eyes of the crowd went to him at once.

Cen grumbled something under his breath as he looked around, shifting nervously. Gathering himself, he drew a breath and started to speak.

"Okay. Well, um…can everyone hear me?"

The last three words came out greatly amplified, audible all the way across the green, which startled Cen and made him jump. He looked down at Estel and the others, and Sapphire shot him a sheepish look, her hand over her mouth and her face a bit pink.

"Sorry!" she whispered, lowering her hand and looking quite embarrassed. "I thought it would take effect before you started!"

Cen sighed and looked back out at the crowd.

"Well, okay, I guess you can. Um…" He looked a bit pale in the light from the bonfires. "Okay. I guess I should start with saying that it's good to be back here, or here in the first place, I guess, since some of my group hasn't ever been here before. Anyway. We're glad to be here, and thanks a lot for going all out like this for us. We really…" He trailed off, at a sudden loss for the word he needed, gritting his teeth.

"Appreciate," Rath hissed up to him.

Cen relaxed. "Yeah. We really appreciate it."

General cheering greeted this, along with much waving of mugs in the air and, from the mages present in the crowd, flickers of flame and marshlight shooting upward. Cen relaxed even more as he took in this show of approval.

"We've been through a lot since we started this Light Warrior thing…" He paused for the outburst of cheering at the words 'Light Warrior'. "…and, really, a lot of it's been pretty tough. It's a big deal. I guess I still don't get just how big it is, but if you ask Rath, this guy here in the pointy hat, he'll tell you all about it. Anyway. Like I said, there's been some pretty nasty stuff we've had to deal with, and we've had a pretty hard time with it, but so long as we can keep Crescent Lake…" Another outburst of cheering. "…and other places like it safe, then it's not like we can say it's not worth it. Um…"

Cen hesitated, casting around for something further to say. He glanced down at his companions for a clue, and Rath gave him a 'wrap it up' sort of gesture. Nodding, Cen looked back at the crowd.

"Well, um, I won't keep you long, so, yeah, thanks again for all of this. We really need this kind of thing after everything so far, and we've got nothing against being an excuse to have a big party. I bet this'll be the best one out of everywhere we go."

Cheering, applause, and whoops of agreement. More sparks from the mages.

"Okay. So." Cen relaxed enough to actually grin. "Quit listening to me and go get back to celebrating!"

Thunderous applause and cheering. Several mages shot up exploding orbs like Rath had done. Looking rattled but triumphant, Cen jumped down from the table and opened his mouth to say something to Estel. Before he could, though, Sapphire gave a little yelp and hurriedly clapped her hand over his mouth.

"Don't talk yet! Wait just a moment…"

She murmured something under her breath, there was a faint shimmer in the air, then she removed her hand from Cen's mouth.

"All right," she said. "I just had to remove the spell."

"What was that?" Cen asked, rubbing his throat and looking puzzled.

"It…was a variation on the Vox spell. I thought it would be useful here, since not everyone could hear you otherwise."

"Yeah, it was. Just…warn me next time, okay?"

Sapphire nodded, an embarrassed smile tugging at her lips. "Okay."

Estel thumped Cen on the back. "See, that wasn't so bad, huh?"

Cen snorted and shook his head. "Whatever you say. I'm just thinking that I really, really need a drink now."

"Heh, yeah, I'll buy that." Half-smiling, Estel turned and looked as though he was about to say something to Sapphire, but then he stopped, drew a deep breath, and looked away. "Hey, Mag, where're you guys hidin' the good stuff?"

Cen raised an eyebrow. "Need some liquid courage, huh?"

Estel gave him a sharp, half-incredulous and half-quelling look. Sapphire glanced back and forth between the two of them, looking very puzzled.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Estel said before Cen could speak. "C'mon, Saph, let's go get something to drink." He grabbed her by the hand and started towing her toward the barrels of various beverages. She trotted along just behind him, still somewhat bemused.

The celebration went on late into the night, people dancing, talking, eating, drinking, and doing any number of other things; some of the mages even continued shooting orbs up to explode over the crowd, creating an impressive fire-show in the sky above. The last light of the sunset vanished, and the sky faded to inky black, stars gleaming down from it. The bonfires blazed, bathing the green with ruddy, flickering light. The sounds of laughter, music, and the crackling fires filled the crisp night air.

Cen once again found himself the focus of attention for many of the young women in the town. They clustered around him, making a great fuss over him, asking him to tell and retell his adventures in Mount Gulg, and frequently pulling him out to dance. Cen did not try to hide how much he was enjoying all this, and he gave as good as he got, flirting and flattering just as much as the young women were. For a few of the girls, it took as little as a smile from him to make them nearly swoon, and they would have to be held up by their friends or escorted away to sit down for a moment.

Rath, meanwhile, had attracted a rather different audience.

"Another one! Tell another story!"

"Another? Well, let me think…"

Rath sat on a bench in the midst of a mob of young children, all of them watching him with rapt attention as he told stories and did little magic tricks for them. In spite of the crowd, he looked remarkably at ease, more so than his companions had ever seen him. A smile, not a glare, narrowed his eyes, and as he spoke, his fingers danced in the air before him, leaving thin trails of colored fire in their wakes: illustrations for the tales he told. The children watched and listened, transfixed, with some of the little girls staring at Rath with obvious adoration. Beside him sat a pile of small gifts, beads and pebbles and flowers, the girls had shyly given him over the course of the evening.

Estel and Sapphire spent the entire evening together. Still holding her hand, Estel led Sapphire all around the green, greeting people he remembered, making the rounds of the food and drink tables, and generally doing a bit of everything. Sapphire both enjoyed and was overwhelmed by all the activity, and Estel was certainly having a good time. He always had a mug of something or other in hand, and as the evening went on, his face grew flushed and his words started running together more than usual. Still, the effect he was hoping for seemed reluctant to come; often he would stop and look at Sapphire, about to say something, but then lose his nerve and start back on whatever they had been doing at the moment.

The hour began to grow late. The bonfires started to die down, and the stars brightened overhead. Still, the party showed no sign of abating, aside from the older residents and families with very young children going home for the night. The band continued to play, and people danced on the grass. Estel, bright-eyed and now rather overenthusiastic, turned to Sapphire, and this time his nerves did not get the better of him.

"Let's go dance, Saph. 'S the only thing we haven't done yet."

Though starting to look a little sleepy, Sapphire nodded.

"Yes, all right."

Estel grinned and pulled her out to the dance floor.

Given he was well on his way to being quite drunk, Estel danced impressively well, and thanks to his lessons before, Sapphire mostly managed to keep up with him, only misstepping and getting the giggles once or twice. One, two, three songs passed, some more vigorous than others, as the pair stepped and twirled out on the grass.

The band played the final note of a song and paused, taking a quick break between numbers. A few players got up and left, and others wandered over and took their places. The dancers halted as well and applauded the musicians, and Sapphire, by now somewhat disheveled and out of breath, turned to Estel.

"Can we take a break? I'm getting a little tired…"

Estel opened his mouth to answer, but just then the band started another song, this one a vibrant, quick-paced number. He looked from Sapphire to the musicians and back, and an encouraging sort of grin appeared on his face.

"One more," he said. "Then we can stop. Okay?"

"Okay…" Sapphire sighed and took his hand again, though she looked around at the other couples with slight concern. "I…don't think you taught me this one."

"That's okay. This's an easy one, an' we can just make stuff up for the bits that I don' remember how they go. C'mon!"

Estel spun into motion before Sapphire could offer any reply. The dance actually was not very simple, involving lots of complicated patterns, but Estel remembered nearly every step and convincingly faked it when he did not. Sapphire, at a loss, just clung to him as they whirled across the green.

At last, the band reached the song's final crescendo. Estel, eyes alight, left the pattern of the dance entirely: he spun Sapphire away, pulled her back into his arms, and as the last note played, he dipped her backward and kissed her firmly on the lips.

Sapphire would have gasped had her mouth not been otherwise occupied. She seized Estel by the shoulders, half pushing away and half hanging on so she would not fall. And before she could react any further, the kiss ended. Estel drew back and straightened up, breathing hard, his face now flushed from something other than alcohol. He watched Sapphire, not releasing her from the embrace. Dumbstruck, Sapphire stared back at him, her mouth partway open and her eyes round with shock and alarm.

Then, mercifully, Cen shook off his fan club and intervened.

"Well, I guess everyone can go home; looks like the big event's just happened." He tried to sound somewhat cheerful, though concern flickered in his eyes. Attempting to do so subtlely, he worked Estel and Sapphire apart as he steered them off the dance floor. "You two really stole the show."

Sapphire, still utterly stunned, did not react to Cen's arrival, but Estel looked exasperated and a little annoyed.

"Cen," he said in a loud whisper as Cen drew him a little bit away from Sapphire, "what're you doin'?"

"Estel, how drunk are you?" Cen whispered back.

Estel scowled. "Not very!"

"Yeah, sure." Cen sighed. "Yeah, sorry, but, um…" He thought fast. "Oh, yeah, Mag was looking for you, said it was for something really, really important, so I came to get you. You need to go find him."

For a moment, Estel just looked suspicious. He squinted at Cen's face, studying the look in his eyes, then his glare lessened to a mere frown.

"'Kay. But it better be _real_ important." He looked at Sapphire, his expression clearing instantly. "I'll be righ' back, Saph." He turned and trotted off into the crowd.

Cen sighed in relief as he watched Estel go, then he turned to Sapphire. Her shocked expression had not changed, and she was breathing hard. Cen took her by the arm and led her away from the bulk of the crowd, then he put his hands on her shoulders and bent to look her in the eyes.

"Sapphire, are you okay? Come on, snap out of it." He gave her a little shake.

Sapphire drew a sharp breath as though she had just woken suddenly, her eyes widened even more, and her hand flew to her mouth.

"What—?"

"What in _blazes_ does he think he's doing?!"

Cen and Sapphire both started, and they turned to see Rath storming toward them with all the air of an elder brother swooping in to defend his sister's honor. Cen looked fairly stunned by this, but Sapphire did not react.

"W…what was that, Rath?" Cen asked.

Rath did not answer. He began studying Sapphire's face as soon as he reached her, his eyes narrowed as they swept her features.

"Unbelievable. I knew he lacked basic decorum, but I never thought he would stoop to something such as this." He gave Sapphire a look. "As far as I am concerned, you have every right never to speak to him again."

Cen just looked more confused. "This coming from _you_?"

Rath glared at him. "This is a different matter entirely."

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Did you not see what he just did?" Rath snapped in a tone that made it clear he thought Estel's behavior was very grievous indeed.

Cen opened his mouth to say something, but then he shook his head.

"Okay, I'm not going to ask. Just…go find Mag, tell him to keep Estel busy for a while so I can get this sorted out. And go fast, because Estel's gone to find him too."

"Gladly." Rath turned to Sapphire, and his tone and expression actually softened into an odd, fraternal concern. "Go find Mira. Have her walk you back to the house." With that, he left to find Mag, disappearing into the crowd.

Cen pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes for a moment, then he turned back to Sapphire. She stared at him, drew a deep breath, and spoke, her voice faint.

"What just…why did he do that?"

"I have no idea. Rath's pretty good at not making sense that way."

"No, not him… I mean, why did Estel…?" She could not quite finish the query. "It…was it just because he's been drinking?"

Cen gaped at her, and it took a moment for him to find his voice.

"I'm really, really hoping that I've just had more to drink than I thought so that I'm not hearing you right. You're not really asking that, are you?"

"Of course I am." When Cen continued to stare at her in confusion, Sapphire frowned and went on, sounding teary. "Cen, stop that; this isn't funny!"

Cen let out a heavy breath. "Oh, I know that, believe me." Another breath, and he fixed Sapphire with a very serious, incredulous look. "Sapphire, Estel's in love with you. He's been trying to get your attention ever since we all met up in Cornelia. We just figured you were too stuck on Rath to care or…be interested or anything, but…" He paused, looking even more baffled. "Did you seriously just never notice?"

Sapphire gaped, unable to answer aloud, but the look of surprise on her face spoke for her. Cen winced and shook his head.

"I knew he had this all wrong. I should've…" He trailed off. "Well, it's too late for that now. Come on." He took Sapphire's arm again and started to lead her through the crowd. "Let's find Mother and have her get you home."

* * *

Quite some time later when the party finally began to wind down, Cen, Estel, and Rath started making their way back to Cen's house. As Cen had requested, Mag and his friends kept Estel busy for the rest of the night, so much so that when Cen came to retrieve him, he was sprawled on the grass, either asleep or unconscious. Mag blamed this on Estel having drunk too much of some murky homemade concoction he and his friends had brought with them.

"It's made of apples," Mag had said when Cen, scowling, had pressed him as to what exactly the drink was. "Well, mainly apples… And, hey, it's not like we _made_ him drink as much as he did."

Thanks to this, Estel was not able to return home on his own. Cen and Rath carried him, his arms slung around their shoulders and their arms around his waist to lift him along. Rath had been in favor of leaving Estel lying out on the green, but Cen insisted they bring him home, if only because Mira would have fits if he did not return.

It took a while to get to the house, even though it was not a long walk; having to haul Estel slowed them down enough as it was, but on top of it Cen was showing the signs of his drinking as well, staggering a bit as he walked. Rath glanced at his companions and rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Never in my life have I been more glad of my resolve not to drink."

Cen gave him a look. "Better this than being sober right now, lemme tell you."

Rath did not attempt to contest this point. He shot another look at Estel, now snoring with his head drooped forward and his hair hanging over his face.

"Is he likely to remember any of what has happened?"

Cen shrugged, and the shift of balance made him wobble and stumble over a flagstone.

"Dunno. He might. I think he's only got this drunk or worse once before, so…yeah. Not sure how much he'll remember."

"Hm." Rath shook his head. "Well, we shall see."

After another few minutes, they arrived at Cen's home. They started up the walk, and as they did, the front door opened and Idren stepped outside, wrapped in a heavy coat and looking very disgruntled. They stopped short as they saw him, and he paused partway down the walk as well, his expression one of dull exasperation.

"Of course. The moment your mother sends me to fetch you is the moment you decide to return. I suppose I should thank you for saving me the trip."

Cen did not reply, and Rath's eyes narrowed. Idren moved to let them at the door.

"Get inside; you've been out late enough as it is." He looked Cen and Estel over, distaste plain to see in his eyes. "Do you always have to get yourselves into this kind of state at these events? Of course, I didn't expect things would improve after that speech of yours. Really, how much had you had to drink by then? I can't believe even _you_ would ramble on like that when sober."

Despite the emboldening effect of the alcohol, Cen cringed at Idren's sharp, disdainful words. Rath, on the other hand, stepped forward, slipping out from under Estel's arm.

"Cen, take Estel into the house," he said, his voice cool and level, in sharp contrast to the anger flashing in his eyes. "I must have a few words with your father."

Cen obeyed at once, staggering up the steps and into the house. Rath and Idren remained on the walk and watched each other in prickly silence.

"Cen tells me," Rath said at last, his voice still deceptively calm, "you are a remarkably intelligent man, and a person of some importance in this city. Am I correct?"

"You are," Idren said, his tone just as calm.

"Then why…" Rath's voice gained an edge, and his eyes hardened. "…do you persist in behaving as though you have all the reasoning power of a concussed troll?"

For a moment, Idren looked supremely taken aback. A flare of anger appeared in his eyes, but he quelled it at once.

"I beg your pardon?"

"No father should behave in a way which causes his own children to fear him. There is no justification for your behavior toward Cen, no matter what you may think to the contrary."

Idren raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. And you're basing this on having known my son for less than a year and observing two instances of interaction between us."

"You are painfully simple to read," Rath said coolly.

"Really." Idren turned and walked a short distance out onto the lawn. "Rath, correct? Rath, you clearly think of yourself as a very observant young man, but I would thank you not to presume that you know more about my family than I do. Cen has always been a willful, disobedient child—"

"Ah, so you are both stupid _and_ blind?"

Idren spun around, staring at Rath, who stood watching him with narrowed eyes, his arms folded. Rath went on:

"Can you truly not see how Cen acts around you? He does his utmost to conduct himself in a way of which you will approve, to give the correct answers and say all the correct things. Yet all you do is find fault with him. I watched him the night we arrived here. One look from you, one raised eyebrow, was enough to cow him. By the end of the evening, you had so worn him down that he feared for his physical safety. That, from a young man whom I have seen face two of the gods' greatest enemies without any hesitation or fear. I shudder to think what you have done to him over the years if one evening's conversation is enough to provoke such a reaction."

Idren's glare matched Rath's.

"I have only ever done what I had to in order to properly raise and educate him. Dealing with Cen requires bluntness—"

"Bluntness, perhaps, but not cruelty!"

"—_bluntness_," Idren repeated, voice rising, "because it's the only way the fool can understand what's being said to him. Force is the only way to get anything across. I treat him like I do because he's not—"

"Not like you?" Rath said, glaring. "Because he is not like Sienna?"

Idren gaped, and it took a moment for him to regain his voice.

"And what…does my daughter have to do with this?"

Rath made his way onto the lawn, his eyes not leaving Idren's, as he answered.

"I can see the scene in my mind. Two children: one, Daddy's little girl, intelligent, sweet-tempered, perhaps even idolizing her father, wanting to follow in his footsteps; and the other, a rough and tumble little boy who would rather play outside than study, the opposite of every virtue his father admires. Both children fall terribly ill, and what happens? It is the the golden child who does not rise from her sickbed."

He stopped right in front of Idren, whose expression had hardened.

"I suppose many would not blame you for resenting Cen's survival." He leaned forward. "I am not one of those people. Do not mistake me: I know how difficult it is to suffer a great loss, but grief should never be channeled into abusing others. Nothing you did was for Cen's good; your behavior toward him was always tainted by you blaming him for surviving when your perfect little girl did not. And, to be frank, such reasoning disgusts me."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Idren said, his voice sharp. "I would never stoop to succumbing to such ridiculous feelings. All I have done—"

"All you have done is leave your son with wounds more difficult to mend than anything physical," Rath snapped. He gave Idren an incredulous look. "Have you any idea of the importance of what you have thrown away? He is your _son_. Your _family_. And you have driven him away, all because your wounded ego bade you do so. The relationship you could have had with him is one you will never be able to recover."

Idren watched Rath as he spoke, and slowly, the defensiveness and pique left his face. Instead, the calmness from before returned.

"I think I'm a better judge of what my relationship with my son may or may not be," he said. A faint smirk appeared on his lips. "You're rather simple to read yourself, you know."

Rath backed away a step. "I beg your pardon?"

"You're not taking Cen's side for his sake. After all, why should you be so incensed on account of someone you barely know…" Idren's gaze became confident, his superior tone returning. "…unless your view is colored by your own experiences?"

He took a step toward Rath.

"_You_ are in Cen's place, aren't you? _That_ is why you're taking his side. You're taking all your negative experiences with your family and applying them to us so that through me you can take out your own frustration. I presume your father and I must be quite alike, if you can attribute his 'faults' to me so readily."

Rath said nothing, but the temperature around him shot upward and his eyes blazed, almost glowing with a light of their own. The grass around his feet began to blacken. Idren took a step back, looking suddenly uneasy.

"How dare you?" Rath hissed. "How _dare_ you?"

Idren forced a short laugh. "So I am right, then. I believe I would like to meet your father one of these days. I think we would get along quite well."

Threads of lightning crackled through the air around Rath.

"My father is dead," he said, his voice sharp and hard. "In life, he was ten times the father you could ever _hope_ to be, and if you continue—" His voice began to rise, his eyes flashing. "—to malign his memory by likening him to a cruel, self-absorbed pompous ass such as yourself, I won't be responsible for my actions!"

The lightning around him gouged the ground around his feet. Idren jerked backward, eyes wide, but once he was out of range, his eyes narrowed again and he glowered at Rath.

"I want you out of my house. Go inside, get your belongings, and leave. I won't have an unstable person like you here endangering my family."

"You—"

"Rath's not going anywhere."

The two combatants spun to look at Cen, standing in the doorway and watching them. He had a stern, determined look on his face.

"What was that?" Idren asked tersely.

"I said that Rath's not leaving. He only got like that because of what you were saying to him, and that just means he's…sane, not unstable." Cen stepped down from the porch and approached his father. "You're not kicking him out. I won't let you."

Idren glared in both fury and astonishment. Rath just looked stunned, the violent aura around him dwindling. Cen went on.

"He's right, Father. Everything he said is right. I've been standing there and listening, and it's all right, and I should've told you all that before _me and Estel_—" He put heavy emphasis on the poor grammar. "—left before." He paused, breathing hard. "I tried. I always tried. And it's not my fault that you weren't ever happy with it. So now I'm not going to try anymore. I'm going to do what I'm supposed to do, and fight, and save the world. And if you don't like _how_ I'm doing it, then that's too bad. The gods picked me, so that means _they_ think I'm doing it right, and they're really a lot more important and smart than you."

He gave Idren a look, then he grabbed Rath by the arm and hauled him toward the house.

"We'll leave when we're ready to leave," he called back over his shoulder to Idren. "And you won't kick us out before then."

He and Rath entered the house, and Cen slammed the door behind them before starting up the stairs, still gripping Rath by the arm. As they reached the upstairs landing and the sound of Estel's snores became audible, Rath spoke.

"Cen, let go of me."

Cen stopped and released Rath's arm at once. "What?"

"What prompted that?"

Cen blinked a few times before answering.

"Because I figured we'd get here and you and him would be like best friends, and would both be going after me this whole time. But you didn't. You took it all and just shoved it back in his face." He paused for a moment, his grey eyes fixed on Rath's golden ones. "Y'know, I can't get how people can figure you're a girl, 'cause you've got to be the most ballsy guy I ever met."

Rath did not quite know how to take this, so he opted for stupefied blinking. The pair watched each other in silence for a couple of seconds.

"Can I tell Estel you called Father a pompous ass?" Cen asked at length. "And a…com…er, a cont…"

"…A concussed troll," Rath said, looking a bit unsettled. "You…were listening the entire time, then."

Cen nodded. "I just had to drop Estel in bed, that doesn't take that long."

Rath did not answer right away, instead staring down at the entryway below.

"Yes, you may tell him," he said at last.

Cen grinned. "Great. He'll love that." He looked around at the door to his and Estel's room and then down the corridor leading to the guest rooms. "Ug, gotta go find a room now…"

"Yours will not suffice?"

"Not with Estel like that, it won't." Cen pulled a face. "Not like it matters; there's other guest rooms besides yours and Saph's." Not waiting for any further reply, he wandered down the corridor, picked an unoccupied room, and entered it, shutting the door behind him.

A few minutes later, Rath left the landing as well and returned to his own room.


	23. The Morning After

**Chapter 23: The Morning After**

Silence pervaded the house the next morning. Idren left for the University at first light, at least partly to avoid being home. Both Estel and Sapphire remained in their rooms, though for very different reasons. Mira kept to the kitchen, brewing up some vile-smelling hangover cure for those suffering from last night's festivities. Rath rose early and left the house to run an errand, returning just after half past nine. Upon his return, he made his way back to the kitchen, a few envelopes in hand.

"Mira," he said as he stepped into the spacious room. Tall windows let the sunlight stream in, making the room's clean surfaces gleam. "Good morning."

Mira, an apron tied around her waist and her bun a bit flyaway, looked up from the pot of steaming liquid she was stirring and smiled at him.

"Good morning, Rath. How did you sleep?"

"Well enough. Is there perhaps a room where I might sit and read in private for a while? I would simply return to my own chamber, but Estel is being distractingly vocal in his illness."

"Oh…" Mira tutted. "Poor thing. He must have been in quite a state last night if he's so miserable now. I'll have to go up and check on him."

Rath made a vague noise of agreement.

Mira resumed stirring the contents of the pot. "You can use Idren's study to read, if you like. The door is just straight opposite this one, under the stairs."

"Thank you."

Rath inclined his head to her, then turned and left. He crossed the small alcove hidden beneath the curved staircase and found the door. Trying the knob, he found the door unlocked and opened it. In the room beyond, no walls could be seen; bookcases, packed full to bursting, completely obscured them. In a windowed niche opposite the door stood a large, ornate desk, an equally impressive armchair set behind it. A plain, round table stood in the center of the room, along with a couple of matching chairs.

At this small table sat Cen, hunched over with his head in his hands. He had books stacked on the table around him and one open before him, his brow furrowed in intense concentration as he stared down at it. In the bare space, the pieces of his puzzle lay scattered, many now connected though some still single. A mug full of something steaming sat on a short stack of books just to Cen's left.

Rath took in this sight with obvious surprise. Cen looked up at the sound of the door opening; he looked rather ghastly, pale with dark circles under his slightly bloodshot eyes, his hair an even more tangled mess than usual. His clothes looked very rumpled from having been slept in, and his shirt was halfway unbuttoned. A musty, stale sort of smell hung around him. He gave a half-hearted wave as he saw Rath.

"'Morning." He sounded a bit hoarse.

"Good morning…" Rath stepped farther into the room, closing the door behind him. "I must confess, I did not expect to find _you_ here."

Cen shrugged. "Well, I already had a headache, so I figured I might as well do something useful with it." He looked back down at the book before him, frowning at it.

"I suppose I cannot argue that." Rath moved forward and sat down in the chair to Cen's right. "And what useful thing are you doing?"

"Trying to find anything about where the other two Shrines are. The first two just kind of got handed to us, but I'm getting the feeling we're going to have to work for the others. Thought I'd try to get a head start on things." He looked up at Rath. "What about…" He trailed off as he saw the envelopes in Rath's hands, then he raised an eyebrow in mild amusement. "Oh, so it's that again."

Rath gave him a narrow look but for once did not take the defensive.

"Two of these happen to be for you and Estel," he said, handing Cen a pair of envelopes. "One is from Tristan, the other from your uncle."

"Elend?" Cen blinked, looking down at the letters in surprise. "Why…oh, I bet he wanted to tell us about what happened with Bikke."

He slit open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. He read it very slowly, his lips forming the words silently. He winced at a couple of points, and when he reached the bottom his expression became somber. Rath raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"Huh?" Cen looked up. "Oh, nothing. It's…" He refolded the letter and returned it to its envelope. "Elend just kind of had some bad news for Estel. But it's the same kind of bad news he's used to, so I guess it doesn't really matter."

"News concerning what?"

Cen gave Rath a mock-suspicious look. "You sure are being friendly. Are you feeling okay?"

"You are the epitome of wit, Cen," Rath replied dryly.

Cen half-smiled, then became serious again. "It's to do with Estel's mom. Elend's trying to help him find her, but they haven't had any luck so far. He just let us know that's still how things are."

Rath actually looked somewhat intrigued. "His mother is still alive? Given her circumstances, I would have thought—"

"Yeah, that's what I think too. Don't say that to Estel, though, or you'll get worse than a punch in the face for it." Cen set the letter aside and opened the one from Tristan. "From what he's said, they were really close, so he's really set on finding her, and of course Elend would do anything to help. But, like I said…"

He shrugged and started reading the other letter. A smile replaced the serious look on his face.

"Ah, that's great." He folded up the letter and looked over at Rath. "Everything in Melmond is back to normal; Tris says you can hardly tell anything was wrong with the earth at all. They're working on fixing up the town, and sending groups out to the other cities to clean up and search for survivors." He smiled a bit more. "And he says the kids want us all to come back out to visit."

Something almost like a smile flickered in Rath's eyes.

"Well, that _is_ good news. I am not certain we will be able to fulfill that request for quite some time, however."

"Oh, I know. It's just nice to know people are looking forward to seeing us." He set the letter aside and looked back at the book before him. He sighed. "Urg, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. There's got to be something wrong with these books; the words keep trying to crawl off the page if I look at them for too long."

Rath raised an eyebrow. "Crawl off the page?"

"Yeah. Like…" Cen made an inchworm motion with his hand. "Like that."

Rath leaned over and looked at the pages, then glanced at Cen.

"That may be due to your hangover, you realize."

"Yeah, maybe." Cen stared down at the book for a few moments, trying to read more, but then he gave a derisive snort, shut the book, and dropped it to the carpet beside his chair. "That I can't even read half the words in the first place probably isn't helping me either, so I think I'm done with that now." He scooped the pieces of his puzzle toward him and began working on that instead.

"Personally, I would rather read than try to decipher _that_." Rath nodded toward the puzzle as he opened one of the envelopes he still held. He pulled out the letter, opened it, and started to read, but then he stopped, eyes narrowed in a frown, and looked at Cen. "To clarify: you do not know half the words, or you simply cannot read them?"

"Can't," Cen said, not looking up from the puzzle pieces. "Father would always tell me to just sound things out, but…yeah, it doesn't work." He turned over a couple of pieces, studying them, and then clicked them together. "He didn't ever believe me. So I'd get, you know." He held up one hand and used his other to make striping motions across the back of it. "Like that. I just stopped trying after a while."

Rath bristled and shook his head in disgust. "And somehow I thought my opinion of your father could fall no lower. He deserves far worse than what I said to him last night." He smoothed out the paper in his hands and resumed reading; his pique faded and his posture relaxed as his eyes moved across the page.

Cen, reaching to pick up another puzzle piece, glanced over at Rath. He tapped the piece on the table, debating, then he turned his attention back to the puzzle, letting Rath finish reading. He spoke, not looking away from what he was doing, when he heard a rustle of paper as Rath folded the letter and put it away.

"So what does Sarah have to say?"

Rath shot a narrow look at him, then he tucked the letters, read and unread, into one of his pockets.

"Nothing you will be privy to hearing, I assure you."

Cen shrugged. "Fair enough." He took a drink from his mug, grimacing at the taste. He fiddled with the puzzle for a moment longer, then he looked over at Rath, his eyebrows drawn together and a slight frown on his lips.

"I need to ask you something."

Rath's eyes narrowed and his shoulders went rigid. Cen ignored this and went on.

"Last night, you asked me why I stuck up for you against Father. I just want to ask you the same thing. Why are you taking my side?"

"I have already explained my reasoning to you."

"Well, explain it more, because I still don't get it. I wasn't kidding when I said we thought you and him would get along really good, or that you acted just like him. I mean, almost the only thing _you_ haven't done is hit me with a ruler. And it can't just be about him being family, because of how angry you got over me wanting to go help Tristan before."

Rath watched Cen, taking in the determined look on his face, then his shoulders relaxed just a bit. His eyes, however, remained narrowed.

"I was…not entirely in my right mind in Pravoka. You should not judge any subsequent behaviors by that instance." He paused, tapping a finger on the edge of the table. "Your father is a very ungrateful man. He has two perfectly fine sons, yet he persists in fixating on the daughter he has lost. While that loss is indeed tragic, it…is not fair you should bear the brunt of his inability to cope with it. You are his child just as much as Sienna is. That he has such disregard for his own family is sickening, and anyone with any sense would be appalled by his behavior." He looked away, staring down at his tapping finger. "Family is not something one should take for granted. Your father not only did that, but also took what should have been a close, long-lasting relationship and damaged it beyond repair. Because of him, you have spent years competing with a perfect memory of a 'perfect' child, and will spend years more overcoming the repercussions of that. Why should I not take sides against someone who would sink to doing such things to his own kin?"

Silence fell. Cen stared at Rath, looking almost surprised to have received such a lengthy answer. Rath's gaze, however, remained on the table and his drumming fingers.

Cen spoke first.

"Um…okay. Wow, that actually made sense. Thanks."

Rath shrugged.

"Ah…" Cen looked away, going back to working on his puzzle. "Well, okay then. So Father was completely wrong with what _he_ was saying about it."

Rath snorted. "Of course. That he has spent so many years misunderstanding you is more than enough proof he could not analyze his way out of a cupboard, much less make a correct deduction concerning _me_, whom he has scarcely met."

"Yeah, I…" Cen trailed off, frowning at the clusters of puzzle pieces in his hands, then he looked over at Rath. "Okay, that's a little much. Father wasn't wrong about me, he was just a jerk about it. Really, I'm not smart, you don't—"

"Actually," Rath interrupted, looking up from the tabletop, "you are quite impressively intelligent. It simply manifested in a way your father did not recognize."

Cen blinked a few times. "Say again?"

Rath did not answer at once. He stared out the windows behind the desk, considering how best to phrase the explanation.

"People are intelligent in different ways, or rather, have different areas in which they do well. Some excel in mathematics, some in writing and composition, some in art, and so forth. You…" He paused again, thinking. "Your particular intelligence lies in things of a more physical nature, hence your skill in combat."

Cen looked dubious. "That's not smarts, that's…it's just something I'm good at, it isn't anything to do with how smart I am. If it was, I couldn't do that either."

"Hm." Rath almost looked amused. "That is what your father believes. I, however, think such talent has just as much to do with intellect as do the more academic skills your father so prizes."

Cen leaned forward against the table, rubbings his temples with the heels of his hands in an attempt to subdue his headache. He took another drink from his mug, then waved a hand for Rath to continue.

"Your father, self-absorbed as he is, did not realize intelligence could make itself known in a way other than it has in himself. So, when you did not respond to the teaching methods he used, he deemed you a hopeless case. That is not true. Your talents simply made things so you would be better suited to a more active way of learning." Rath paused, watching Cen. "You are following this?"

Cen took another drink and nodded.

"Yeah, so far. And thanks for using little words."

Rath inclined his head. Before he could continue, however, Cen spoke up again.

"You know…that really does make sense. I think…" He paused, frowning. "I think Tristan knew that too. When he taught me things, he did it different than Father did, and I always remembered them better." He picked up his mug and swirled the remaining liquid around inside it. "But I still don't figure being able to fight is the same as being smart. I've known lots of warriors who are better than me and are about as smart as a bag of rocks, and that's coming from _me_."

"How old are you?"

The odd question brought Cen up short.

"Ah, I just turned twenty this last summer. Why?"

"And how much professional combat training have you had?"

"Um…?" Cen raised an eyebrow. "Just what Elend taught me. I always just kind of picked things up on my own, to be honest."

Rath began tapping the table again, looking out through the windows.

"Think back, now, on our confrontation with Marilith."

Cen grimaced. "No thanks. The less I can think about her, the better. I could hardly look at those bonfires last night with a straight face as it is."

Rath shook his head. "No, not _that_ aspect of the fight. I meant the actual combat. At the start, she had a clear advantage over you, so that all you could do was defend, and even then you were being pressed backward. At the end, however, in spite of heat and fatigue, you held her to a standstill. How could you do that, given how young and relatively untrained you are?"

It took a while for Cen, a somewhat pained look on his face as he went over the battle in his mind, to come up with an answer.

"Well…I knew how she fought by then. Not like she had a pattern or anything, but…I could just see how she moved better, how all the pieces fit together kind of thing."

Rath nodded. "And _that_, Cen, is how you are intelligent."

"…What?" Cen blinked. "Oh, come on, that's not being smart, that's just using my eyes. Anyone can do that kind of thing."

"I cannot," Rath said with surprising bluntness. "I could have watched her for days and come no closer to understanding or predicting her motions as you did. I have seen you do such things in battle several times before, and I must confess I find it somewhat astonishing."

Cen slumped back in his chair, looking slightly dubious. He started to reply, but then gave up and took another drink.

"You have remarkable skills in observation and in putting your observations to use," Rath went on. "If you need other examples, there were the jumping mazes we encountered in Mount Gulg, and even that puzzle." He gestured to the metal pieces scattered on the tabletop. "I would not have known where to begin with such an item, yet you have nearly completed it. Your intelligence, Cen, lies in action, not in study."

Cen remained silent for a while, considering this. He looked down at his puzzle and turned a few pieces over, his brow furrowed; after a bit, he began snapping the pieces together. Rath watched, but soon looked away, examining the books Cen had gotten out.

"That…sort of makes sense," Cen said finally. He continued to fiddle with the puzzle as he spoke. "I didn't ever think about it that way before."

Rath shrugged. "Few do. I simply happen to have some skill in understanding people, though I tend to keep the knowledge I glean to myself."

Cen gave a half-smile, not looking up. "You keep a lot of things to yourself."

Another shrug.

A few moments of quiet passed, then Cen spoke again.

"About that…I have another question. Your father—"

"That matter," Rath interrupted, his voice suddenly sharp, "is most certainly _not_ open for discussion."

"Oh, calm down," Cen said, scowling. "I just want to ask one question, not know your whole life story or anything. What's the big deal, do you figure I'm going to take a cheap shot or something like Father did?"

Rath started to retort, but Cen spoke over him.

"I just want to know what he did for a living. What his job was. Is that okay?"

Rath glared, sitting tense and rigid. After a few prickly moments, however, he looked away, staring at the book-lined wall.

"He was a healer," he said. "Like Sapphire."

"Really?" Cen looked surprised. "A healer? Huh, I wouldn't have figured that. Well…okay. Thanks. That's all I wanted to know." He went back to his puzzle. "Hey, I think I'm almost done with this."

For a moment, Rath looked almost stunned that Cen had dropped the subject. He stared as Cen clicked puzzle piece after puzzle piece into the main block. He drew a breath to speak, but before he could, Cen grinned and snapped the last piece in place.

"Got it! Ah…" His pleasure faded somewhat as he took in what he had made: a metal cube, the same shape as the box the pieces had come in. "Well, okay then…"

Rath leaned over to look. "Let me see it."

Cen handed the block to him, now looking slightly perplexed. Rath studied it, turning it over and examining each side. Taking another drink and finishing off his mug, Cen watched him.

"Isn't there supposed to be, you know, some lesson I need to learn from that?"

"Yes…" Rath murmured, only half paying attention. "Or perhaps…" He pushed the books aside and set the block on the table. "…there is merely a reward to be earned."

He ran a finger along the front of the block, about half an inch from the top. Where he touched, a dark seam became visible. He repeated this on the other sides, then, to Cen's shock, he lifted off the top, revealing the interior to be hollow. Cen stared.

"It's a _box_? But, it was completely solid when I finished!"

He took the box back and stared at it, leaving Rath holding the lid. Indeed, the solid block of metal had somehow become hollow, the interior smooth-sided and bearing no indication that the box was composed of many interlocking pieces. It was not, however, empty: a small, round bottle, made of iridescent golden glass and corked with a delicate-looking stopper, lay at the bottom, glistening.

Cen picked up this bottle and stared at it in confusion. It was so small that he could have easily closed his hand around it without even having to stretch his fingers. Rath, on the other hand, gaped, and the lid slipped from his fingers and struck the tabletop with a sharp clang. Cen winced.

"Hey, watch it. I really can't deal with loud noises right now."

Rath did not reply, instead just staring, transfixed, at the golden bottle. Cen glanced from Rath to the bottle and back, eyebrow raised.

"Okay, clue me in. What's so great about this?"

"That…" Rath had to work to regain his voice enough to talk. "That is a megalixir. It is…the substance in that bottle is one of the rarest concoctions in the world. It is worth, at the _very_ least, two hundred thousand gil."

Cen's eyes went round, and he immediately set the bottle down on the table, as though worried he might break it.

"Two hundred thousand? I…wow. What does it do?"

"You know the function of an elixir?"

Cen nodded.

"This is much more powerful," Rath said. He sounded almost awe-struck. "Should all four of us fall, and be within seconds of death, the contents of that bottle will restore all of us to perfect health, as well as replenish my and Sapphire's magic."

Cen swore. "Seriously? That's crazy. There's no way I deserve to get that just because I figured out a puzzle."

"You received it because you accomplished the task the sages set you: not to complete the puzzle, but to realize your intelligence. The puzzle was the means to achieve the end." He seemed to half-smile in the darkness behind his collar. "Or perhaps you would have been unable to solve the puzzle until you learned the necessary lesson."

"But…" Cen stared at the bottle, frowning. "I didn't realize anything. You _told_ me about it. Doesn't that make it not count?"

Rath shook his head. "I told you, but you were well within your rights not to believe what I said. You understood and accepted my observations, which is a valid method of realization."

"Um…" Cen carefully picked up the bottle from the tabletop and returned it to the box. "Well, whatever you say. I'll just say I'm glad to have it, and that I hope we won't ever have to actually use it. We beat Marilith fast enough, so maybe we can keep things going good now."

Rath did not reply. Cen closed the box and looked around at the stacks of books.

"Back to this, then…" He gave a quiet groan and put his head in his hands. "Urg, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I don't even know if I got any of the right books; I just took anything I could find with 'Water' or 'Wind' in the title. I couldn't even get anything with 'Crystals' in it because I don't know what that word looks like."

For a moment, Rath almost looked sympathetic. He shook this off at once, however, and began going through the piles of books on the table, his eyes skimming the titles. Before he even got through half of them, however, he stopped and looked over at Cen, who had not lifted his head from his hands. Rath watched him for a brief second, then looked down at the book he was holding. He set it on the table and sighed.

"The Shrine of Water is in Onrac."

Cen looked up, staring at Rath with both confusion and astonishment.

"What?"

"The Shrine of Water is in Onrac," Rath repeated, not making eye contact. "Or it is near Onrac, at any rate; it is just offshore from the…'capital' city."

"But, how did you…" Cen's eyes widened. "You've known that the whole time! You've always known where that Shrine is, you just never told us about it!"

"It would be difficult for me _not_ to know, given I grew up within sight of it."

"But why didn't you tell us you knew where it is? We could've—"

"Done nothing useful, I am afraid." Rath sounded terse now, his eyes narrowing. "Even had you known, we had no way to reach the Shrine, and in fact still do not."

Cen lowered his hands, frowning. "Well, sure we do. The _Charybdis_ can make it up to Onrac, no problem. It got us all the way across the Ingens Ocean, didn't it?"

Rath glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "Think about that statement for just a moment, then consider this: does something not strike you as inherently wrong with the idea of traveling by _sea_ to reach the Fiend of _Water_?"

"I—" Cen opened his mouth to answer, but then he stopped, winced, and covered his eyes. "Oh. Right. Yeah, that…wouldn't be the best thing to try."

"Precisely."

"…Well, wait a minute." Cen uncovered his eyes and looked at Rath. "How did you _leave_? There must be some way, if you were able to get out and go to Cornelia."

Rath did not answer this, instead staring out the windows behind the desk.

"The first method which comes to mind…" He trailed off, tapping his fingers on the table, his eyes narrowed. "There is a caravan," he said at last. "It stops in the salt desert outside Onrac's western border fairly frequently, if its habits have not changed. Its wagons are infused with Teleport spells, so it can travel all over the world. If that caravan comes here, we could arrange passage with the merchants."

Cen frowned. "I don't…oh, wait, are they those guys who wear really bright colors and lots of gold and beads and things? Yeah, they come here."

For some reason, Rath did not look much relieved. "How often?"

"Um… Mostly just in the summer, like around my birthday. Sometimes they come around harvest and trade for food and mead and stuff."

"In either case, we have missed them." Rath sat back in his chair.

Cen sighed. "Yeah. So, we're still stuck. Unless we can come up with a really brilliant idea, we're going to be here until next summer."

"And I do not believe any of us desire _that_." Rath sat up straight and began sifting through the books again. "So, our search has changed from finding the Shrine to finding a way to reach the Shrine."

Cen slouched back in his chair and gave the books a dismissive wave. "Yeah, and good luck with it. It looks like the only way we can get there is by flying, and somehow I really don't see that happening."

Rath started to agree, but then he stopped, looking at the volume beneath his hand. He picked it up and read the cover with a certain resigned interest. After a pause, he handed the book to Cen, who took it and looked over the title as well.

"Masters. Of. The. Sky," he read aloud, slow and halting. "A. Study. Of…" He trailed off, frowning at the unfamiliar word.

"Lufenian," Rath said.

"Thanks," Cen said, and continued. "A. Study. Of. Lufenian…"

"Advances."

"Advances. In. Wind. Magic." Cen blinked. "Well, that's nice, but how's it going to help us? Maybe you missed this, but the Lufenians have kind of disappeared."

"Yes, I am aware of that," Rath said, a bit testily. "Look at the cover illustration."

Cen did so. "It's a boat," he said. "A—" He broke off, looking down at the image again. "A boat…with wings?"

"An airship," Rath said. "Certainly your brother would have told you of such things? He is a Lufenian scholar, if I recall correctly."

"Yeah…yeah, he did. He told me…ah…" Cen leaned forward a bit again, putting his hand to his forehead. "He told me that all the stuff that the Lufenians made disappeared hundreds of years ago, weapons and the airships and all kinds of really amazing things. No, not disappeared, got destroyed, sorry. Except one…he said that him and Dr. Unne might have found where one airship is hidden, in…ah, I can't remember the name of the place."

"Perhaps you will recall it later. Go on."

"And he said… Ah!" Cen looked up. "He said he _did_ know where the thing that powered the ship was, he and Unne just hadn't been able to set up an expedition to go get it yet. It's called…a levistone, I think, and it's—"

He got to his feet, went to a shelf stacked with scrolls, and began rifling through them. At last, he found the one he wanted; he returned to the table, pushed piles of books aside, and spread the scroll—a map—out over the tabletop. The map showed Crescent Lake and the surrounding mountains, as far west as Elfheim's eastern border and as far north as Pravoka. Cen pointed to a small, unlabeled dot in a range of mountains labeled 'Whisperwind Range' to the northwest of the lake.

"It's there, in an ice cave way up in the mountains. I've been up near there before, with Elend and everybody treasure-hunting, so me and Estel would know where to go. And…" His eyes drifted across the map, coming to rest on a small desert surrounded by mountains to the south of Crescent Lake. His eyes lit up. "And that's where Tristan figured the ship was! Ryukahn Desert!"

Rath got to his feet and examined the map with detached scrutiny.

"How long do you suspect it would take to retrieve these items?"

"Um…" Cen lowered himself into his chair, frowning and thinking. "Well, the trip up to the ice fields is pretty tricky; we'd have to sail to the mouth of the Whisperwind River, and from there it's about as far as to Mount Gulg, but there's a lot more going _up_. So…" He shot Rath a questioning look. "Three, four weeks? And about that back to the ship as well. But then it'd just be a few days to get from there to the desert."

Rath exhaled slowly, still staring down at the map.

"Upward of two months, then…all going on the _chance_ we will find what we need." His eyes narrowed a bit. "And this is still our swiftest course of action."

"And it'll keep us from being _here_, more to the point," Cen said. "Besides, we know the levistone is up there, so even if we can't find the airship, we can take the stone out to Tristan and see if he can help us from there."

Rath nodded slowly. "That seems to be our only option."

"Yeah. And not a really fun one, to tell the truth." Cen pointed to the dot again. "The mountains there are the tallest in the world. And it's the coldest place anywhere. And we're going up there in the _winter_."

Rath winced as the implications sank in.

"Ah. Yes, this will be…uncomfortable. Particularly…" He glanced up at the ceiling, then at Cen. "…for our two young teammates, do you not agree?"

Cen swore and screwed his eyes shut. "I almost forgot about that. Yeah, that _will_ be a rough time. Well…okay, we can worry about that later." He glanced upward as well. "I should go check on Estel right about now anyway. And…" He grimaced. "…clean up the mess he made. I always feel guilty if Mother has to do it."

Rath looked somewhat impressed by this, but then his eyes narrowed.

"And I think you must learn what he recalls of his deplorable behavior last night. Remind him of it, with great force, if need be. He should not be allowed any leniency in this matter, and he should be well aware of that fact."

"He didn't mean to do anything bad, you know," Cen pointed out. "He just…got ahead of himself a little. He really thought that Saph—"

Rath gave a snort of derision. "It was obvious she still did not recognize his advances; you could see that yourself. It astounds me he did not, but that is still no excuse for what he did."

"Um…" Cen frowned slightly. "Okay, not to change the subject or anything, but this is still _really_ rich coming from you. Estel gets called out on the carpet for a mistake, but you get to upset Saph on purpose and get away with it?"

Rath's shoulders tightened.

"That was entirely different—"

"Yeah, but it ended up the same. If Estel needs to apologize, then so do you."

Rath glared at Cen for a moment, then turned away, his hands clenched on the tabletop. Cen just watched him and waited. After a few seconds, Rath's hands relaxed, and some of the tension left his eyes. He began straightening the heaps of books and did not look at Cen as he replied.

"That…is not my forte. I will do what I can."

Cen nodded. "Good." He started toward the door. "Well, I'll go check on them. Wish me luck."

"Luck," Rath said dryly. "You should fix your shirt before you go, however; Sapphire may be up and about by now."

Cen glanced down at his half-open shirt. "Oh, yeah. Good idea; she's had enough problems with this kind of thing lately." He did up the buttons. "Thanks." With that, he left, shutting the door behind him.

After a quick stop in the kitchen to ask Mira to start filling a washtub, Cen made his way up the wide staircase to his and Estel's room, the door to which was shut. The alternating sounds of snoring and groaning coming from inside had at last halted, though for how long remained to be seen. Cen glanced down the corridor, checking to see if Sapphire's door was still shut as well, then turned back and entered his own room.

The stench struck him as soon as he opened the door, and he reeled back before gathering himself and going into the chamber. Even shuttered, the window provided enough light to see by, and this revealed the room to be in a disheveled and disgusting state, the latter since Estel had utterly failed to hit the basin next to his bed when he had been sick. Estel lay on his bed in a heap amidst a tangle of blankets, one arm hanging over the edge and his face half-buried in a pillow. If he heard Cen enter, he gave no sign of it; either he was asleep or was just making a very concerted effort not to move.

Cen cleared his throat, then said, louder and more cheerful than necessary, "Good morning, sunshine! Time to wake up!"

"Uuurrrrgggnnhh…" Estel groaned and made a weak shooing motion with his dangling hand. "G'way," he mumbled, his voice hoarse and muffled by the pillow.

"Aw, but it's such a great day outside," Cen said, seeming to be enjoying this a little too much. He took a few more steps into the room. "Here, I'll just open the window and let in all that nice, _bright_ sunlight…"

Estel's dangling hand began to fumble for something to throw. Cen stopped just beside the foot of Estel's bed and folded his arms.

"Oh, come on, you know I won't really."

"Mmmph." Estel gave up and his hand fell limp again.

"You do need to get up, though," Cen went on. "Mother's getting a tub ready downstairs so we can rinse you off." He paused, sniffed, and then added, "And maybe we should have Rath burn your clothes too."

"Ffpptthhhlllgh."

Cen frowned. "Hey, don't call me that!"

"Mph."

"Okay, Estel, I'm serious. Try to roll over and look at me; we've got to do a memory check. Come on."

"Mph." Estel made a very half-hearted attempt to roll over, then gave up and just peered at Cen with one eye. "H'zat?"

Cen sighed. "Estel, this is important. What—"

Estel resumed his previous position, burying his face back in the pillow with a faint groan. Cen scowled.

"Estel!"

Estel cringed. "No' so loud…" With titanic effort, he managed to push himself onto his back. He lay there, trying not to move again, his clothes rumpled, his face pallid, and his hair a tangled mess. He squinted at Cen with cloudy, bloodshot eyes.

"What?"

"How much do you remember about what you did at the party last night?"

It took a while for the question to make it through the haze around Estel's brain, and a while longer for him to pluck out an answer. "Mmf. Walkin' aroun' with Saph. Lots've drinks…"

"Anything else?"

Another long pause for consideration.

"R'member…bettin' Mag I could climb the clock tower just usin' my lips…"

Cen started to say something, then he stopped, blinking. "Seriously? How would that…er, never mind. Is that _all_ you can remember?"

An even longer pause.

"Uh-huh." Estel's bleary squint narrowed a bit in suspicion. "Why're you askin' like tha'? Did I get in trouble 'r somethin'?"

Cen drew a breath and braced himself for the inevitable. "Maybe you should ask Sapphire how much trouble you're in."

Estel's eyes flew wide open and he jerked upright.

"What?!"

He immediately regretted lurching, and he collapsed back onto the mattress, moaning and clutching his head. Cen did not wait for him to recover before continuing.

"Don't remember that, huh?"

"Uhhhgg…no…" Estel's gaze fixed on Cen again. "What'd I do to her? I…I didn'…did I?"

"You invited her out to dance," Cen said, trying to keep his voice calm. "And you kissed her in front of everybody. I think you'd planned something like that, right?"

Estel stared at him, trying to think and not move again. At last, he groaned as the memory started to filter back to him.

"Yeah, I did." He frowned. "Dammit, Cen, got me all worked up for nothin'."

"Well, no, not for nothing." Cen leaned toward Estel. "She didn't get it, Estel. You thought she was finally starting to pay attention to you like that? No, sorry. She had absolutely no idea, at all; she didn't even know you were interested until I told her. You scared the daylights out of her when you pulled that stunt last night."

Silence fell as this made its way through to Estel. His expression became distressed, and this only intensified as the full memory of his actions and Sapphire's reaction came back to him. He gave a very pained half-groan, half-wail.

"Ah, gods, I'm so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid…" He put his hands over his face. "She's gonna kill me."

"Actually, if anyone's going to kill you, it'll probably be Rath. He's pretty angry at you for this."

Estel gave an unintelligble mumble in reply. Cen sighed.

"Okay, we'll talk about this once you've cleared up a little. Let's just get you downstairs right now and clean you up and get some water in you. That'll help."

Estel did not reply or make any attempt to move.

"She hates me now," he mumbled into his hands.

"Uh, she's _Sapphire_, remember?" Cen said with rather forced patience. "I don't think it's physically possible for her to hate anyone."

"Yeah, it is. She hates me."

"And you know that how? Now come _on_, you need to get to the kitchen; I've run into ogres who smell better than you, and it'll be easier to get the mess here cleaned up without you still around making more of it."

After a great deal of precarious maneuvering and Estel groaning and protesting weakly over the slightest movement, Cen managed to get Estel out of bed and on his feet. Estel, looking even more pale, had to lean on Cen for support as he staggered to the door. The relative brightness of the corridor made him wince and screw his eyes shut, sagging against Cen a bit. That he closed his eyes so quickly was fortunate, because Sapphire happened to be just a few feet away, a bit unkempt-looking and still in her clothes from the previous evening, on her way from her room to the stairs. She stopped mid-stride and stared at the two men; as she saw Estel, her eyes went very round, vivid color rose in her face, and her fingers flew to her lips.

"Oh."

Estel's eyes snapped open. He stared at Sapphire, guilt growing on his face even as the shock and residual alarm grew on hers. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but then he clamped it shut, either unsure what to say or worried he would be sick out of nerves. Not that it would have mattered either way; as his mouth closed, Sapphire, now looking embarrassed on top of everything else, turned and fled back to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Estel cringed. Cen's support was the only thing stopping him from collapsing to the ground in a miserable heap.

"I screwed up everythin'…" he muttered. "She hates me."

Cen glanced down the corridor and did not answer. After a second, he started guiding Estel toward the stairs.

"Come on, let's start trying to fix you up."


	24. A Chilly Expedition

**Chapter 24: A Chilly Expedition**

Even after the lingering effects of Estel's hangover wore off the following day, he remained miserable. He sat around with Cen all day, moping and looking as though his life could not possibly get any worse. Cen seemed torn between feeling sorry for him and being exasperated, but Rath made it no secret that he thought Estel completely deserved every twinge of guilt. Estel did not attempt to contradict this.

Near evening, the Light Warriors held a brief meeting down in the kitchen, seated around the plain wooden table that stood at the far end of the room. Estel and Sapphire sat as far away from one another as possible, Sapphire staring down at her lap and Estel watching her, looking away sharply if she should happen to look up. From beneath the table came the quiet sound of his foot tapping against the tiled floor. Cen, occasionally exchanging a look with Rath over all this, explained what he and Rath had learned about the Shrine of Water and the next part of their journey.

"It's going to be a tough trip," he said, looking around at the group. "Almost a month up and the same back, and it won't be like anything else we've done so far, so we need some new equipment: gear for climbing, and good cold-weather clothes." He looked at Sapphire. "You can have Mother take you out to get your clothes if you, you know, don't want us hanging around while you pick out some of that stuff."

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, please."

"Okay. I'll do up a list for you to take so you know what extra things to get." An uneasy frown crept over Cen's face. "Um, there's one more thing… We'll have to change the sleeping arrangements once we start up there."

"What?"

Sapphire looked up, puzzled and more than a little wary. Estel's eyes widened in realization, then he groaned and dropped his head onto his arms with a thump. Cen glanced at him, then turned back to Sapphire.

"This place where we're going is pretty much the coldest place in the world. I mean, it's…" He paused, trying to think of a good example. "Okay. If you were up there, and you spit, the spit would freeze almost before it hit the ground. That cold."

Sapphire's eyes went round. Cen continued.

"It's real important to keep as warm as you can when it's cold like that. I mean, you can lose fingers or even die if you don't. It's even more important at night, since when you're asleep you…kind of don't keep yourself warm as well. So…" He braced himself. "We're only bringing one tent, and you're going to sleep in with us."

For a moment, Sapphire just stared at him. Then she drew a sharp breath and brilliant color flooded her face. Her eyes darted to Estel, his head still down on the table, then to Rath, then back to Cen, and she shook her head, hard.

"No. No, I…I can't—"

Cen suppressed a wince. "I'm sorry, but you don't really have a choice. I mean, if you did, I wouldn't have even brought it up, because I know you wouldn't want to. We just really don't want to risk you freezing to death or anything up there."

Sapphire stared at him, breathing hard, then dropped her gaze to her lap. She started picking at her sleeves. Cen cast a glance at Rath, who shrugged, before turning back to Sapphire and putting a hand on her shoulder. The contact made her jump.

"Don't worry," Cen said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "It won't be too bad. We'll all still be in our own bedrolls, and each have at least four layers of clothes on to separate all of us. Can't get much safer than that, right?"

"It would be best if you did not dwell on this arrangement," Rath said mildly. He watched Sapphire over the tips of his steepled fingers. "It is a practicality only, and you should look at it as such. Rest assured, none of us are anticipating this either, and we will do our utmost to prevent the situation from becoming too uncomfortable."

Sapphire did not look up from her lap.

"Is there…is there anything else we need to talk about?" she asked in a whisper.

Cen hesitated, then shook his head.

"No, I guess we're done. Just remember we're going to be leaving in three days, okay? Make sure to have all your stuff ready by then."

Sapphire nodded, then got to her feet and started toward the door. Before she could go too far, however, Estel straightened up and called after her.

"Saph?"

Sapphire froze. She glanced back at him, her face going an even darker red, then turned and rushed from the kitchen. Estel watched her go, a pained look on his face, and as the kitchen door swung shut, he slumped in his chair and buried his face in his hands. Cen frowned in concern.

"Estel…"

"She doesn't hate me," Estel said, voice muffled by his palms. "She's _scared_ of me. That's even worse."

"She's not scared of you," Cen said, though he did cast an uneasy look at the door. "She's… This has just been a weird couple of days, and she's having a hard time with it. Give it a little time, and then you can try to sort things out, okay?"

Estel did not answer. He lowered his hands, pushed himself to his feet, and made his way out of the room as well. After a moment, he could be heard going upstairs.

Cen pressed one palm to his forehead and grimaced.

"And it keeps getting better." He looked up at the ceiling. "Could we have, you know, at least one time where things don't get screwed up like this? Just _one_? We're trying to help you out here."

No answer came.

* * *

As Cen had planned, the Light Warriors left Crescent Lake in three days' time, Mira seeing them off with many tears and Idren conspicuous in his absence. Winter had truly arrived now, the Crescent Mountains coated in snow down to their feet and the trees frosted and sparkling. Steam rose out of the forest wherever a geyser or hot spring lay. The companions bundled up against the chill in the new woolen clothes and heavy cloaks they had bought in Crescent Lake—though Rath still wore his battered old robes beneath his cloak, in spite of offers to get him new ones. Each person also carried additional, even warmer things in large packs, Cen had the gear they would need for climbing, and Sapphire had a new hammer, made of gleaming, blue-white mythril: a conciliatory gift from Cen and Rath.

It took a little over a week for the companions to travel from Crescent Lake back to Hook Port, where the _Charybdis_ waited for them. The trip was decidedly uncomfortable thanks to Estel and Sapphire's continued awkwardness and unease around each other, and the short sea voyage north to the mouth of the Whisperwind River was no better. The pair could not even look at each other, much less talk, and they remained as far apart from one another as possible as the group traveled. This discomfort cast a shadow over the group and bothered Cen in particular; Rath, noticing this, made a point of engaging Cen in conversation whenever possible, if only to fill the silence, and this helped matters a bit. Reaching the river provided, if not complete relief, at least some further distraction because of the drastic change in travel methods.

The Whisperwind Mountains were very different from the Crescent and Gulg ranges. While the slopes of the latter had been tree-covered, the former were windswept and almost completely bare, whatever flora they possessed currently covered by snow. The Whisperwinds also stood much taller, their tops jagged and sharp; even as distracted as she was, Sapphire could not help but stare up at the towering peaks in awe. The Whisperwind River also varied a great deal from the Crescent; it was narrow, swift, and often stirred up by vicious rapids and waterfalls plummeting down from the surrounding slopes. Traveling by boat or canoe would have been all but impossible, and so the companions made their way along the rocky shore, fording incoming tributaries when they had to and steadily making their way up and west. And, just as steadily, the temperature dropped the higher they climbed.

"Ah, don't pull faces like that," Cen, sounding far too jovial, said one morning to a shivering, glaring Rath. "Cold like this is good for you; gets your blood flowing. Save the scowls for when you really need them."

Rath, unbundling a coat to put on under his cloak, gave Cen a look.

"You are enjoying this far too much."

Cen shrugged. "Well, _somebody_ has to be in a good mood."

"…A fair point."

As Rath had predicted, Sapphire and Estel's moods did not improve as they traveled. Sapphire spoke only rarely, one or two words at most, and then only to Cen; she also was having trouble sleeping again, though some of this could no doubt be attributed to the rocky ground as well as her emotional state. She could not even glance at Estel without blushing or looking away so fast that Cen started to worry she was going to injure herself. Estel tried valiantly to put on a display of normalcy, but it seemed far too orchestrated to be believeable. He remained unable to talk to Sapphire, but he did sometimes watch her when he was sure she would not notice. In quiet moments at camp, he would just sit and stare at his compass, watching the needles spin around and around.

About one week into the journey, the lie of the river changed; instead of flowing more or less flatly, it instead gushed down roaring waterfalls, forcing the companions to scale near-vertical slopes in order to continue on their way. This was a mixed blessing; the exertion not only kept everyone warm and focused on something besides the group's internal drama, but it also left everyone sore and exhausted at the end of each day. Rath and Sapphire had the most difficult time of things, not being as athletic as Cen or Estel, but Cen helped them as much as he could.

The upward journey continued. After another week and a half, the Whisperwind River abruptly vanished, disappearing under a massive, glistening white sheet of ice that sloped down from the south. Cen and Estel just continued on, climbing onto the glacier, but Sapphire hesitated, looking wary and hugging herself tightly, and had to be pulled along by Rath.

Her hesitation seemed justified, as that night the alteration to the sleeping arrangements was put into effect. Prior to this, there had generally been enough brush and gnarled trees by the river to provide a decent campfire; this would, given a little encouragement from Rath, burn hotter than normal, keeping each campsite reasonably bearable in temperature. This clearly was no longer an option, and so, when evening began to fall and the companions halted for the night, Cen set up the tent.

This worsened the discomfort in the group immeasurably. In the interest of keeping the less hardy of the group the warmest, Cen and Estel slept by the sides of the tent, with Rath and Sapphire in the middle. The first night, Sapphire, lying between Cen and Rath, could not sleep at all, tossing and turning and staring wide-eyed into the darkness. Rath spoke to her about this the next morning, even offering to cast Sleep on her if she could not calm down on her own.

"I understand this is uncomfortable for you; in truth, I sympathize with your discomfort. However, it is imperative that we all get adequate rest, and that is very difficult to do when you are twisting about like you were last night."

Sapphire blushed and nodded, and on the next few nights she did request, almost in a whisper, that Sleep be cast on her. Rath was more than happy to oblige.

"Now if only I could cure Estel of jamming his elbow into my ribs as well," he muttered one evening as he knelt beside Sapphire, his hands cupped over her mouth and nose as he delivered a concentrated Sleep spell. "I might, for once, wake well-rested."

"I'm not doin' it on purpose!" Estel said, scowling.

At the sound of his voice, Sapphire startled a little, disrupting the effects of the spell and half-waking. Rath shot a very sour look at Estel before turning away and starting to repeat the spell. Estel dropped his gaze at once, guilt radiating off him. On the other side of the tent, Cen, lying on his side and propped up on one elbow, watched him with concern.

Once Rath's spell had taken effect, Sapphire dropping off into a deep sleep and her features relaxing, Estel spoke again, quiet and sounding very distressed.

"I hate this."

"You _could_ attempt to mend the situation," Rath said as he climbed into his bedroll. He did not lie down right away; he closed his eyes, and after a moment the temperature in the tent began to rise to something more comfortable.

"How? She won't…she can't even look at me. She almost jumps out of her skin every time I talk. How am I supposed to…" Estel trailed off, breathing hard, then he shook his head and put his face in his hands.

Cen sighed and rolled onto his back.

"Don't worry, Estel; you'll think of something. Now come on." He pulled up his blankets and shut his eyes. "Get to sleep. We have a lot of hiking to do tomorrow."

* * *

The journey went on. Sapphire did not grow even remotely comfortable with the sleeping arrangements and continued needing Rath to put her to sleep each night. He always obliged without protest, but Estel found it upsetting; he would watch her out of the corner of his eye as the magical sleep washed over her, his expression pained. Cen, of course, found his friend's persistent dark mood a cause for concern, and after a while, it looked as though Rath began to think so as well. Though inclined to raise an eyebrow over this change of opinion, Cen did not comment on it.

The temperature continued to drop as the group climbed higher and higher along the glacier into the mountains. Though the companions had been glad of their warm clothes before, that did not even compare to the level of gratitude they felt now, as each morning they wrapped themselves in nearly every piece of clothing they had brought with them. Everything—gloves, cloaks, hoods, scarves—was either heavy wool or fur-lined, and everyone covered themselves up completely, with tinted glasses over their eyes to protect them from the snow-glare. Still, even with all their warm clothing, the cold took its toll; by the time they stopped each night, none of the companions could feel their hands or feet, and even with Rath's magic raising the temperature in the tent, it still took them a long time to stop shivering. As the trek went on, Rath went to great lengths to counteract the growing frigidity; he encouraged Sapphire to assist—asking her to cast NulFrost, a spell that repelled cold and ice, whenever necessary—and he himself even went so far as to work the heat and feeling back into everyone's feet and hands before they retired each night. This sudden helpful behavior, particularly given its physical nature, baffled the others, but as it kept them from needing to have toes amputated, no one commented on it.

It took just over a week and half of hiking through the bitter, deadly cold to reach where Cen said the cavern was. The stretch of glacier, at the foot of the tallest mountain in the range, looked just like any other, but none of the others contested Cen's assertion. And he was right: after only two days of hunting, they found a long, deep crack running through the ice, parallel to the line of the mountains. Cen examined this for a little while, walking back and forth along the edge, before giving a decisive nod.

"Yeah, this is it," he said, voice muffled by the layers of cloth over his mouth. He glanced up at the pale, watery sun at the top of the sky. "Good timing, too; we're here early enough that we should be able to get in and out before nightfall."

Rath walked over beside Cen and looked down into the crevasse as well.

"And this is where the levistone is hidden?"

"Yeah. There's a cave under here, and this crack is in just the right place so that you can get to the cave from it."

"Hm." Rath did not look up. "Interesting."

Cen turned around to look at Estel and Sapphire, who stood a fair distance apart and were pretending not to notice one another. He sighed and shook his head.

"Okay. Make sure you're ready to head down. I'll get things set up here, then, Saph…" He waited for her to look at him. "…I'll show you how this'll work. Okay?"

Sapphire nodded.

It did not take Cen long to prepare for the descent. He pounded a few long spikes into the ice several feet from the edge of the crevasse and tied the rope to them in a complicated-looking series of knots. Rath watched him do this with some detached interest, while Sapphire fussed with her heavy outer cloak and Estel double-checked that the crampons were attached to his boots properly. After checking everything over a few times, Cen straightened up and turned to the others, the coil of rope in one hand.

"Okay, everyone over here." Once they had gathered around, he continued. "We're going to work this just like we did in Marsh Cave: I lower you guys down, then climb down after. And this time…" He sounded like he was smiling. "…we don't have to worry about getting trapped by a tree."

Estel cleared his throat and looked away.

The crevasse was not as deep as Marsh Cave, so it did not take long for the four companions to reach the bottom. The chill in the air seemed less bitter here, the thick, white ice providing excellent insulation and protection from the wind. To the east, the crack widened, and the group went in this direction. After only a short distance, though, a quiet trickling sound came to the companions' ears.

Rath blinked in surprise. "Water?"

"Of course," Cen said. "Caves don't just appear out of nowhere, do they?"

Just a few yards ahead, they found the source of the sound: a little streamlet crossed the path, running along the bottom of a round, open cavern, the ice of its walls smooth, rippled, and blue. Sapphire looked around with very wide eyes, as did Rath.

"Fascinating…" he murmured.

"Heh." Cen pushed back one of his hoods and removed the scarves from over his mouth. He had not been able to shave recently, so he looked rather scruffy now. "It's really something, huh? And this one's a lot bigger than any of the ones me and Estel have been to before, so we're all in for a good show this time." He nodded to the right, the direction the stream flowed. "We want to go that way; the levistone is supposed to be down in the heart of the cave."

"What's up there?" Sapphire asked, pointing up the other way.

"The start of the Whisperwind River," Cen said, smiling a little. "That's what this is: the Whisperwind." He kicked a chunk of ice into the stream running along before his feet. "It starts out as this little hot spring way up on the mountainside, and makes its way out through here. All the ice it melts on its way out just makes it bigger as it goes." He turned and started downstream. "Let's go."

The group started into the cavern. Rath and Sapphire each bore lights, and the red and white radiance glistened off the smooth, translucent ice of the walls and ceiling. Even Cen and Estel could not help but stare at the beauty of the place.

"Shiva lives up here, you know," Cen said as they walked along, careful to keep their feet out of the water. "Up on the highest peak. I've heard stories about her coming down to help travelers who get lost in the Whisperwinds."

"That is how the mountains acquired their name, is it not?" Rath said, eyebrow raised. "From tales of travelers hearing Shiva's voice on the wind?"

Cen glanced over at Rath and grinned. "Right. Didn't figure you'd read up on any god but your own; that's all most people do."

Rath shrugged. "As they are all our 'employers' in equal parts, so to speak, I felt it would be expedient to know as much about each of them as possible."

The group continued along on a roughly southward course, though the path did twist and turn quite a bit. After a while, however, they came across a new tunnel, the walls straight-hewn and white instead of wavy and translucent blue. Cen turned to follow this, but paused before he entered and looked back at Estel.

"You doing okay?"

Estel gave him a look. Cen rolled his eyes.

"I mean with the cave."

"…Oh." Estel cleared his throat and looked around, pointedly not letting his eyes fall on Sapphire. He turned back to Cen and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay…"

"Good." Cen gave him a bolstering sort of look. "Let's keep going."

The new path bent back north and plunged deep into the heart of the glacier. Cen led the way, Sapphire walking with him to provide light, and Estel and Rath brought up the rear. At last, they reached a heavy metal door, etched with runes and crusted over with ice. Rath stepped forward to examine it.

"Hm. This certainly looks like the end of our path."

"Can you read what's written on there?" Cen asked.

Rath shook his head. "I know nothing of the Lufenian language or alphabet."

"Oh."

"So, ah, how about we just go in there and get this levi-thing that we came here for, huh?" Estel started shuffling a bit and glancing up at the ceiling. "I mean, does it even really matter what the door says?"

"It might be a warning," Rath said coolly, raising an eyebrow at Estel. "The room might be rigged with traps, cursed, or guarded."

Estel blanched, but before he could comment, Rath went on:

"But, as we cannot read the inscription, you are correct, Estel: it does not matter. I could…" He turned back and resumed examining the door. "…simply melt the ice, but given our surroundings, I doubt excessive use of Fire magic would be an expedient course of action. Hm…"

After a minute's further study, they decided on a plan. Using a combination of mild Fire magic and repeated batterings from Cen's shield, Rath and Cen managed to force open the door. A plain, open chamber lay beyond it, the walls smooth and white and the floor slick and almost transparent, showing a cavern below. In the center of the room stood a short, grey pedestal, a large, diamond-shaped stone resting atop it.

Cen took a few steps into the room, and the floor groaned beneath his feet. He shut his eyes and grimaced as he moved back.

"Okay, this is a problem."

"Obviously." Rath studied the floor, his eyes narrowed. "How much weight do you suspect that ice could support?"

"Nowhere near what I weigh, that's for sure."

Rath shut his eyes as though in pain, then he drew a deep breath and opened them again. "Would Estel be able to reach the pedestal? Or would this task be better suited to Sapphire or myself?"

"Um…" Cen looked over his three companions. "You or Saph, definitely. And you're both about even on weight, so it'll be up to you who goes."

"Then there is no debate." Rath shrugged. "I will go."

Before anyone could contest this, he stepped out onto the floor. The ice creaked, but quieter than it had when Cen had gone forward, and so Rath proceeded, step by slow step, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Each creak and groan of the ice sounded horribly loud, making the other companions start in alarm, but Rath ignored it. Finally, after what seemed years, he reached the pedestal. He reached out and took the stone from the top. Just as he turned to come back, however, a sharp hiss came from a hidden corner of the room, and something large and grey flew out toward him.

Not startling in the slightest, Rath took half a step back, swung his arms around and slammed the levistone into the thing's side, sending it sailing toward the door. Cen, reacting just as fast, drew his sword and swung it toward the attacker. Whatever it was, it did not bother to dodge and so impaled itself on the blade, shattering to pieces in the process. Cen blinked in surprise.

"Ah…"

Estel actually smiled a little. "Nice goin', Cen."

"I didn't even _do_ anything…" Cen nudged a piece with his toe as he sheathed his sword. "Guess the room was guarded after all."

"None too well," Rath said as he tucked the stone under one arm and resumed making his way carefully across the chamber. "I—oh."

He stopped, the ice under his feet giving a deep, ominous creak. The others looked over at him, their eyes wide, as this time, instead of stopping with his motion, the creaking repeated itself, sharper and longer. Cen edged forward.

"Rath, get back here, that floor's gonna—"

He could not even finish the sentence before the ice below Rath's feet cracked and broke. Cen lunged forward, hit the ice on his stomach, and grabbed Rath's free hand just as the mage disappeared through the sudden hole in the floor. Hanging in midair and grimacing at the strain on his arm, Rath looked up at Cen.

"The ice under you is about to break as well, you realize."

"Yeah, I know…"

"Hang on!" Estel called from the doorway, sounding faintly panicked. "Hang on, we'll pull you back up!"

"Estel, no—!"

The added pressure of Estel and Sapphire's weight was far too much for the already damaged floor to bear: with a noise like a thunderclap, the entire sheet of ice shattered, dropping the companions twenty feet down to the chamber below in a glittering rain of shards. They hit a sloped wall and slid to the ground with nasty thuds, but bundled up as they were, no one suffered anything worse than bruises. Cen, who had landed with Rath in an undignified heap, pushed himself upright and looked around.

"Well, this is just great. Now what are we supposed to do?"

"Climb out?" Rath suggested dryly, brushing ice slivers off his cloak.

Cen gave him a look. "Yeah, how? Even if I did have the grapples with me, there's nothing up there for them to catch hold on."

Estel halted in the middle of sitting up and stared at Cen.

"You…you mean we're trapped?"

"No," Cen said at once. "No, we're not trapped." He got to his feet and looked around. "Ah, see, there." He pointed to a passageway leading out of the small chamber. "A way out. There you go, see? We'll be fine."

Estel nodded but did not relax. Cen walked over and helped him to his feet.

"You're not going to freak out on me, are you?"

Estel shook his head.

"Good." Cen clapped him on the shoulder, then turned to go help Sapphire. "Saph, are you okay?"

"I…" Sapphire put one hand to her head and extended the other to accept Cen's offer of assistance. "Yes, I think so…"

Cen smiled. "Great." He looked around at the group. "Congratulations, guys; you've just survived a twenty-foot drop without breaking any bones."

"Pardon my lack of enthusiasm," Rath said. He remained on the floor, trying to wrestle the levistone into his pack. Once he succeeded, he stood. "Shall we continue?"

The group went out through the short tunnel and emerged in a large, winding chamber, the walls blue and rippled once more. They paused as Cen studied what he could see of the lie of the cavern, then they continued onward, the ground beginning to slope upward slightly under their feet. Though it may have been the sudden increase in Estel's unease, the companions felt unsettled as they made their way through the blue, glistening chamber. Sapphire started jumping at small noises. Rath, walking a few paces behind her, watched her with narrowed eyes.

Then a low growl and the sound of claws scraping along the ice echoed through the air.

Cen spun around at once and drew his sword, as did Estel, while Sapphire and Rath both backed away, Sapphire's eyes wide with alarm.

"Cen," Rath said, keeping his voice calm and perfectly level, "were you aware this cavern was inhabited?"

"No. Why should I be? _Nothing_ should be able to live up here."

Rath started to reply, but before he could, the scraping grew louder and the growl repeated itself. From around a bend in the cavern, two hulking shapes appeared and moved into the light.

Dragons.

Two massive, crystalline-white beasts, their wide, frost-coated wings scraped against the ceiling, their long tails whipped up flurries of ice behind them, and their bared teeth gleamed like icicles. Their pupil-less white eyes remained fixed on the companions as they advanced, a wave of biting cold preceding them.

"…Please say those are two of Shiva's," Estel breathed, eyes round with alarm.

"No," Rath said, flames beginning to lick at his fingers. "They are Fallen." The dragons increased their pace, beginning a charge, and Rath took a step back. "Go!"

Cen had already started running forward; he met the dragons halfway and attacked, slashing at one's snout. The dragon reared back with a roar, then lunged forward, jaws agape. Cen jumped back out of the way before charging and attacking again. The blade caught against the dragon's fangs with a grating squeal of metal on ice, and the dragon thrust its head forward, knocking Cen away as the second dragon moved in from the side. Cen began backing away, eyes darting between his opponents as they converged on him.

Estel ran forward, coming at one of the dragons from behind, but the other saw him and roared a warning. The first dragon swung around and snapped; Estel tumbled back just in time to avoid the glistening jaws, and before the dragon could draw back, Estel slashed at its neck with his saber. The brittle scales broke, the blade pierced into the flesh, and milky blood dribbled from the wound. The dragon screeched in pain and reared back, its frosty wings unfurling to their full breadth and kicking up a gale that nearly blew Estel off his feet.

Moving just in time, Cen dodged a claw swipe from his opponent and retaliated with an axe-like hacking stroke from his sword. It bit deep into the dragon's foreleg, and the dragon, instead of roaring and flailing, charged, throwing its full weight toward the warrior before it. Cen dropped to the ground, and as the dragon began to pass, he rolled onto his back and thrust his sword upward into the base of the dragon's throat. No death shriek escaped the creature as it lurched and collapsed to the ground, and Cen rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed by its bulk.

As the dragon facing Estel dropped back to all fours, it drew a long breath and exhaled, not a plume of flames, but a blizzard: snow and ice and wind. It blasted Estel to the ground and pushed him back, bombarding him with biting snow, hailstones, and spears of ice; behind him, the raging gale slammed Rath and Sapphire back as well, and Sapphire gave a scream of pain as she fell. Cen ran in from the side and jammed his sword into the dragon's thigh, and it broke off its attack, bellowing. Cen wrenched his sword free, but before he could attack again, a fireball shot through the air and struck the dragon's feet, transforming into a whirling vortex of flame that completely engulfed the creature and made Cen jump back in alarm. The dragon's shrieks dwindled as it did not burn but melted, icy cold water pouring off it and streaming across the ground in a deluge. The fiery cyclone vanished, leaving nothing behind but a deep, cold pool and dripping walls and ceiling. The water refroze in sparkling, sharp ridges almost immediately.

Cen gaped for a moment, then he glared and slid his sword into its scabbard with rather more force than necessary.

"What was that before about not using Fire magic? You could've brought the whole ceiling down on us with that, Rath!"

Rath sounded surprisingly tense as he snapped in reply. "Spare me your reprimands and come here; we require your immediate assistance."

Cen and Estel both turned and saw Rath kneeling on the ground beside Sapphire. They started toward him, but before they could take more than a few steps, they came to a brief, abrupt halt as they looked over the scene.

Even at a distance, the bright red stain spreading across Sapphire's clothes was easily visible.

Estel paled and nearly stopped breathing.

"Saph…"

He ran over and dropped down next to her, his eyes round as he took in what had happened. A shard of ice had struck her in the side after she had fallen, and the long, glittering fragment still protruded from the wound at a low angle, wedged under her ribs. Blood had soaked through her clothes and spread across her coat, and she winced every time she drew another sharp, shallow breath, her eyes wide. Beside her, Rath had been struck as well, an ice spike ripping through his many layers of clothing and leaving a gash across his shoulder. He seemed oblivious to this, instead focused on Sapphire and her injury. He did not look up even when Estel and then Cen arrived beside them.

Cen cringed and drew a sharp breath as he saw Sapphire's condition.

"Oh, this is bad…"

Rath did not appear to hear him.

"She cannot heal herself with this here. Hold her still while I remove it."

"Okay."

Cen moved to kneel by Sapphire's head, and he took her shoulders in a firm grip, immobilizing them. Estel, after a brief hesitation, reached out and did the same with her hips. His wide, worried eyes flicked from her pale, strained face, to the shard and blood, and back again. Rath, instead of reaching for the ice shard, took out his short knife and handed its leather sheath to Cen. With a nod, Cen half-released Sapphire to accept the scabbard and put it sideways into her mouth.

"Bite down on that," he said, trying to sound as calm as possible. "This is going to hurt, so be ready for it."

Sapphire, starting to tear up, gave a tiny nod and obeyed.

Rath glanced around, making certain Sapphire was held securely, then he took hold of the ice shard with both hands. Before Sapphire could do more than draw a preparatory breath, he wrenched the shard out and threw it aside.

Sapphire screamed through her teeth and her body spasmed; only Cen and Estel's hold on her kept this to a minimum, ensuring she would not damage herself further. Rath wiped his hands on his cloak and then leaned over and took his scabbard from Sapphire's mouth as she began to cry.

"All finished," he said, sounding, for him, astonishingly kind. "You did very well. Concentrate now on mending the damage."

Breath hitching, Sapphire nodded and shut her eyes, tears leaking out from beneath her eyelids. A tense moment passed, then the glimmering blue-green light of her Cura spell surrounded her and flowed down into the gaping wound. It only took a few seconds for the spell to do its work, healing the internal damage and knitting the skin back together. Cen and Estel removed their hands as the last sparkles of light faded, and Sapphire pushed herself upright, sniffling and wiping her eyes with one hand. She scarcely had time to draw a deep breath before Estel, awkwardness forgotten, seized her in a tight hug, looking as though he had suffered some awful injury as well. Sapphire gasped, eyes widening, but she neither reciprocated nor pulled away.

"Don't do that anymore," Estel said, his tone earnest. "You're not the one who's supposed to get hurt."

Sapphire half-drew away, unease written across her face.

"Estel…"

Estel blanched and released her at once. He watched her in discomfort, Sapphire not meeting his eye, before he looked away, squirming.

"…Sorry. I…er, I mean—"

"Spare us that, if you would not mind," Rath said, sounding like his old self once again. "Sapphire, turn toward me."

Sapphire obeyed with visible relief, but Rath stopped her halfway through the motion. He studied the gash in her clothing, feeling the ragged edges of cloth, his eyes narrowed. Sapphire, suddenly aware that this damage let her bare skin be seen, went very pink and tried to tug the hole closed. Rath batted her hands away.

"Please. There are worse things which could be exposed."

Sapphire blushed harder.

Rath finished his inspection of the clothing damage and, without a word, produced a needle and roll of heavy thread from his pack. Moving with deft swiftness, he threaded the needle and began sewing the hole closed, working on the outermost layers only, the stitches untidy and far apart.

"This is a very temporary seam," Rath said, as though to explain the sloppiness of his work. "It will need to be undone when we return to the surface so I can mend all the garments properly."

Sapphire fussed with the hem of her cloak, staring at the blue ice of the floor.

"I can…I mean, you don't have to—"

"The work would be better done if I did it," Rath interrupted. Cen gave him a look, but before he could comment, Rath continued. "I am not being arrogant; I am simply stating a fact." He finished the sewing and put away the needle and thread.

Cen glanced between Estel and Sapphire, both of whom were fidgeting and not making eye contact with anyone, then he sighed and got to his feet.

"Come on, guys. Let's get out of here."

* * *

_"…I really think we should have done more to stop them."_

_ "It does not matter at this point. They will be making their way north eventually regardless, by one means or another. To strenuously attempt to stop them would only be a waste of our resources. And besides, aren't you getting a bit eager to see them? They have proven themselves quite formidable by now; it might actually be entertaining."_

_ "Yes, okay, that's true. But after what they did to Lich and Marilith, I don't think we should let them just waltz up here without any kind of resistance."_

_ "…You sound surprisingly adamant. I take it that means you have a plan?"_

_ "I do. I'm going to need your help with it, though."_

_ "I am, as always, your humble servant, of course. Please enlighten me; what do you propose we do?"_

_ "Well…"_


	25. Come Fly With Me

**Chapter 25: Come Fly With Me**

They exited the cavern without any further trouble; no more dragons waylaid them, and the chamber they had fallen into after retrieving the levistone had connected directly back to the passage leading to the crevasse. The companions ascended to the surface to find the sun drawing toward the western horizon, staining the snow pink, and the weather looked to be taking a nasty turn. The wind had picked up, and a storm brewed around the heads of the mountains, towering pale grey clouds blotting out the northern sky. Cen had set up the camp before the group entered the crevasse, but they could not dive into the tent for cover immediately: Rath sent Sapphire in by herself first so she could change into undamaged clothes. Once that was done and the others entered the tent, illuminated by one of Sapphire's little marshlights, Rath began heating the small area as he moved to take the torn clothes from Sapphire. She, however, would not release them.

"I'd…I really don't think…"

Rath gave her a look, and she trailed off and looked away. After another moment, she handed over the bundle of clothes. Rath set to work at once, picking out the basting on the outer clothes and then threading his needle again to start fixing the damage properly. He started on the innermost undershift, working very fast, and this time the stitches were small, neat, and close together.

Still getting situated, Estel happened to look over at Rath's work; when it dawned on him what precisely Rath was working on, he looked from it to Sapphire, his face going bright red, then he promptly turned around and put his back to the others. Sapphire could not help but notice this, but she said nothing. Shivering, she hugged herself and watched Rath's fingers and the darting needle, her face burning in embarrassment at him handling her underclothes. She started and looked around, however, when a sudden weight fell on her shoulders: Cen putting his heavy outer cloak over her.

"You look like you need that more than I do," he said with a half-smile.

Sapphire dropped her gaze and pulled the cloak close around her.

"Thank you…"

The wind continued to howl around the tent, and after a few minutes, there came the sound of tiny, hard granules of snow hitting the canvas walls. A collective shiver ran through the companions, the sound of the snow somehow making them feel much colder. Rath paused in his work, shut his eyes, and raised the temperature a bit more before continuing. He finished the first shift and handed it back to Sapphire—she immediately tucked it under the cloak where no one could see it—and began on the next. Cen sat and watched him work out of a lack of anything else to do, while Estel kept his back to the others and stared at the side of the tent.

Rath kept his eyes on his sewing and, after a few final stitches, he finished the second shift and handed it back to Sapphire. She immediately hid it under the cloak with the first, and her blush lessened a bit now that her undergarments were out of view. Rath just started to work on Sapphire's robes without comment.

Estel shuffled a little and cleared his throat, the sound so quiet that it could scarcely be heard over the wind and snow outside.

"Um…" He cleared his throat again, a little louder. "Is there, er, something I can be doin'? Only I feel about as useful as a…er, as a really useless thing, and this tent is gettin' really boring to look at."

Sapphire startled a little, but she managed to look at him for a couple of seconds before her face flushed and she had to turn away.

"If you are as desperate for diversion as you sound," Rath said, not looking up, "you may begin studying the levistone. It would be best if we knew something of its nature before we attempt to employ its power in any way."

"…Yeah, okay. Good idea."

Estel felt around behind him with one hand until he located Rath's ratty old pack. He pulled it toward him, opened it, and removed the levistone before pushing the pack away. He turned the levistone over in his hands, holding it close to his face and squinting at its surface. Silence fell over the companions, broken only by the storm outside, but it did not last long: after only a few minutes, Estel spoke up again.

"It has cracks in it."

Rath and Cen both paused and looked over at Estel, Rath with a raised eyebrow.

"Cracks?"

"Yeah." Estel held the levistone back over his shoulder. "Here, look."

Rath sighed. "Turn around, Estel."

Estel squirmed. "No. You're—"

"I assure you, I am currently working on nothing you have not seen yourself on countless occasions. Turn around if you wish to speak to us."

After a second's more uncomfortable shifting, Estel drew a deep breath and turned around, scooting over a few inches to sit by Rath. His eyes fell on the bundle of cloth in Rath's lap, and he exhaled in relief as he saw that it was only Sapphire's usual robes. He held up the levistone and pointed to one side of it.

"See? All those black lines. Those're cracks, right?"

Rath paused and looked at the stone, his shadowed eyes still managing to catch a bit of the marshlight and reflect it back as a gleam. Black lines did indeed cover the levistone, reaching from top to bottom of the diamond-shaped stone, each line straight, with any variance to the left or right made at a perfect right angle before turning back on its course to the tips. Small black squares lay strewn among the lines as well. Rath ran his fingers over the side, and his eyes narrowed a bit.

"I do not think so. They are far too orderly to be simple cracks or shows of damage. In addition, there is no change in the texture of the stone where the lines cross it; they must be a purposeful inclusion to its design."

Estel blinked a few times. "So…they're supposed to be there?"

Rath grimaced.

"Yes, they are. That _is_ what I said, is it not?"

"I guess so…"

Estel looked up from his study just in time to catch Sapphire's eye over the top of the levistone. The glance lasted for less than half a second before they both looked away, Sapphire starting to fiddle with the hem of Cen's cloak and Estel coughing into his hand and turning his attention wholly onto the stone. Cen and Rath exchanged exasperated looks with one another.

Outside, the snow fell thicker and the wind howled, stirring up flurries of white in the darkness. The companions' little tent shook under the bitterly cold assault, but it did not shift or come loose; Cen had secured it well. Far off, high up at the peak of the mountain, a sound like a woman singing a haunting melody could be heard.

* * *

Sapphire lay on her back and stared up into the darkness, listening to the wind. She had declined a Sleep spell that night, insisting she was so exhausted that it would not be necessary, but now she regretted that decision. She tried very hard not to give this impression, though, lying as still as she could so she would not disturb Rath or Cen. Only the sound of the dwindling storm broke the silence of the tent; even Cen's usual snoring was absent.

After midnight had come and gone, Sapphire, squirming and biting her lower lip, sat up. She drew a sharp breath as freezing air flooded her sleeping bag, but she did not lie back down. Instead, she shifted a bit and looked over to her left where, somewhere in the darkness, Estel lay.

"Estel?" she whispered. "Are…are you awake?"

For a minute, no answer came. Then, just as Sapphire was about to repeat her query, there came the sound of rustling fabric and a deep breath.

"Yeah, I'm awake." Estel sounded very coherent, given the hour, but his whisper had a rather strained, nervous quality to it. "What is it?"

"I…" Sapphire hesitated, her breathing becoming shaky with nerves and her fingers starting to pick at the sleeves of her coat. "Before…um…" She stopped again, shutting her eyes and trying to gather herself. It took a few deep breaths before she could continue at all. "Cen told me that you…you've been…ah, I mean…I mean, ever since Cornelia. Is…is that true?"

Another lengthy silence elapsed before Estel replied, and even then he sounded embarrassed and reluctant to say it out loud.

"Yeah, it is."

Sapphire took a few more long, deep breaths.

"So…the whole time we—"

"Yeah."

The silence that fell after this went on for much longer than those previous. Neither Estel nor Sapphire moved, the only rustle of motion coming from Cen as he rolled over and began snoring quietly. Finally, Estel spoke, his whisper barely audible.

"I thought you knew."

Sapphire did not respond. She remained sitting up for a moment, then she lay back down and rolled onto her side, tucking her sleeping bag close around her. Estel lifted his head and looked toward her as he heard the sound, but when Sapphire remained quiet, he lay back down and curled up, frowning into the darkness.

* * *

Aside from the temperature starting to rise instead of fall, the journey down the glacier scarcely differed from the upward journey: days of trudging across the vast white expanse, arriving frozen and exhausted at each night's campsite, and Sapphire once again requesting that Rath put her to sleep every evening. For all this familiarity, however, it slowly became evident that something had changed.

Though the air of discomfort persisted, Estel and Sapphire still too ill-at-ease to look at or speak to one another, something of an edge seemed to have been taken away. Sapphire, in spite of her continued dislike of the sleeping arrangements, stopped being quite so withdrawn; she began talking a little more and would help Rath with repelling the cold without being asked first. Cen looked rather encouraged by this improvement, but this faded when he noticed Estel did not seem to be responding similarly. The only change of behavior Estel showed was that he did not sit and stare at his compass as much as he had been. He instead spent more time half-watching Sapphire out of the corner of his eye and studying the levistone with Rath. This latter occupation seemed more out of a lack of having anything else to do, however, as they learned very little from their frequent inspections.

After leaving the glacier behind, the awkwardness lifted a bit more, as the group no longer had to share a tent: the men slept outside in their bedrolls and let Sapphire have the tent to herself. Sapphire looked quite touched by this gesture, but Cen just smiled, shrugged, and waved off her thanks.

"Hey, we figured you deserve some privacy by now. You've kind of had to put up with a lot thanks to not having any lately." He started to turn away to help clear the ground for a campfire, but then he glanced back and added, in all nonchalance, "It was mostly Estel's idea, anyway."

Sapphire went pink and did not reply.

It did not take long for the companions to make their way back down the Whisperwind River and to the _Charybdis_ waiting at its mouth. They had decided beforehand not to return to Crescent Lake, instead proceeding at once to Ryukahn Desert, situated on the southernmost tip of the continent between two arms of the mountains. The journey, only a few days longer than that to Hook Port, suffered from the same discomfort the trip up to the Whisperwind had; being cooped up on the small vessel with no way to exorcise his restless energy was almost torture for Estel, and his fidgetiness did little to encourage a calm atmosphere.

Fortunately, the voyage ended before things could become too unbearable. They reached their destination, anchoring the _Charybdis_ at the mouth of the Crescent River, just to the east of the desert. The upcoming task looked to be daunting; Ryukahn Desert had no landmarks within it, being only a wide, rolling expanse of yellow-white dunes stretching out to the feet of the surrounding mountains. It would be only too easy to become lost, as at the right angle, the gap in the mountains could completely disappear, the two arms blending together due to a visual trick. Cen assured the others he would be able to find their way back out should they become disoriented, however.

"And if that doesn't work," he went on, "we can just use Estel's compass to…"

He trailed off as he spotted the look on Estel's face. The compass still refused to behave, both needles constantly spinning out of control. Cen cleared his throat.

"Well, I'll just keep us from getting lost, then. It's okay."

Estel looked away and did not comment.

The companions started into the desert the morning after their arrival. Cen and Rath had gone over a map of the area during the voyage, and they had marked out a grid system to organize the search. Cen put Estel in charge of this to help keep his mind off things, and the distraction actually worked somewhat; Estel led the way through the sandy, windswept valley, so completely focused on the task at hand that he started behaving almost normally. He held the levistone as he walked, and he occasionally looked at it as though hoping it would point in the correct direction.

Around noon, a frosty, dry wind picked up, sending ripples of sand across the desert floor, tossing around the companions' cloaks, and threatening to wisk away Rath's hat. Sapphire, wincing and shielding her eyes, pulled her hood closer around her face.

"I didn't think it would be so cold here," she said.

"We _are_ pretty far south," Cen pointed out. He brought the group to a halt at the top of the tall ridge of sand they had been climbing. "Okay, let's check the map really quick; we've got a good start going, so we don't want to get lost now."

He had scarcely reached for his pack, however, when the levistone tried to jerk itself out of Estel's hands. The sudden movement pulled him off-balance, and he slipped and tumbled down the side of the dune. Sapphire gave a startled cry, and she, Cen, and Rath hurried after Estel as quickly as they could without falling themselves. He righted himself just as they reached him, and he eyed the levistone with suspicion.

"How'd that—?"

The levistone lurched again, yanking Estel hard to the right, and he almost toppled over again. Cen steadied him, but the levistone continued to tug at Estel's arms, dragging him along a trough between two dunes. The other companions chased after him. After a couple dozen yards, however, Estel's feet could not keep up with the levistone's quickening pace, and he slipped and fell. The levistone flew out of his hands and set off rolling across the sand like a tumbleweed. Swearing, Estel scrambled to his feet and dashed after it, the other companions right behind him.

When they caught up to the levistone, it had come to rest at the base of a low dune. The companions stood in a cluster a few feet away from it as they caught their breath, none of them wanting to get too close.

"Alright." Cen's eyes did not leave the levistone. "Someone want to try to explain this?"

Before anyone could reply, the levistone vanished into the ground as though pulled downward by some impossibly strong magnet. Sand started to drain after it, then the ground gave a sudden, terrific jolt, nearly knocking the companions off their feet. Faintly, beneath the sand, there came a deep _clang_, then a low, sustained grinding. The ground began to shake violently, and with another tremendous jerk, a long, straight crack began to open up in the desert, directly beneath the companions' feet. They ran as the crack yawned wider and wider, sand cascading into the immense dark cavern below. Struggling against the tide, the companions did not stop their flight until, as abruptly as it had begun, the tumult ceased.

Silence fell, broken only by the wind and the quiet hiss of falling sand.

Estel, breathing hard, recovered first.

"What the hell was _that_?" He edged forward through the sand, craning his head forward to peer down into the gaping black pit. "What just—?"

"I believe," Rath said, wading over to stand beside him, "we have found the object of our search." He walked closer to the precipice and gave the pit a brief, clinical examination. "There is a stairway here."

He walked to the end of the rectangular hole, which was over one hundred yards wide and at least twice as long, and carefully stepped down from the desert floor onto a long, narrow metal staircase protruding from the cavern's wall. The other companions followed him, Estel first, and Cen leading a rattled-looking Sapphire along just behind.

Faint sunlight slanted down into the darkness, making the still-falling sand glisten. Farther inside, the light half-illuminated a dark bulk and a mish-mash of thin, delicate-looking shapes. Rath conjured a puffball flame as he descended, and the fire cast its flickering glow over a stretch of smooth, reddish-brown wood and glinted on rims and knobs of metal. The scents of timber and oil mixed with the dry, dusty smell of the desert. On the side of the wooden expanse, a gleaming plate of metal bore what must have been the vessel's name, both in Common script and a strange alphabet: _Phaëton_.

The group reached the bottom of the stairs. A narrow ramp extended from the last step over to the wooden bulk. A broad wooden railing encircled the deck, and the metal ramp rested atop it, so that the companions had to hop down to reach the smooth, sand-dusted floor. Sapphire, finally coming back to herself, brought up a marshlight so they could see better.

"Is this the airship?" she whispered, her eyes round.

"It could be nothing else."

Rath made his way around the deck, holding up his flame and feeding more energy into it to make it brighter. The small blaze showed many long, hinged beams topped with propellers, retracted close to the ship's bulk with loose cables hanging from them. What looked like a building encompassed almost the entire stern of the vessel, which likely constituted the cabin area. Near the cabins, the light revealed a pedestal, a little more than waist-height and made of grey stone marbled with some unfamiliar blue substance. Atop this sat the levistone.

Estel's eyes widened as he saw it.

"Hey, so that's where it went!"

He trotted over and looked down at the levistone, Rath standing beside him with the light. The stone rested crookedly on the pedestal's square top, one tip pointing up and the corners pointing outward at the straight edges of the square. The indentation beneath the stone, however, showed the corners lining up with those in the pedestal. Estel and Rath examined this for a minute or so.

"Interesting…" Rath murmured.

"So, how does this work?" Estel asked, squinting at the levistone with great puzzlement. "This's supposed to make the thing go, isn't it?

"That is the impression I received, yes." Rath glanced over at Cen, who was approaching. "Is that correct, Cen?"

For all of Rath's positive behavior of late, Cen still looked quite startled to hear this question. He gave himself a little shake.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's right."

"Hm." Rath turned back to the stone. "Well, then. Let us see what happens."

He shooed Estel away and bent to study the stone and pedestal closer, his hat completely overshadowing his face, leaving even his eyes in darkness. After just a few seconds, however, he straightened up, placed his hands on the levistone, and twisted it so that it fit into the pedestal's indentation. The levistone settled into place with a quiet _thunk_ of stone striking stone. Rath let go and took a step back.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, all over the surface of the levistone, the thin, dark lines and little squares began to glow bright blue, pulsing sparks shooting along them. The glow spread to corresponding lines on the pedestal, the light flowing down like water. Sounds began to emanate from below deck: a long, low groan, followed by the squeals of long-dormant machinery being forced into motion, gears and pistons beginning to pump and move. The smells of metal and oil intensified, becoming almost overpowering. The deck began to vibrate, and a steady, deep hum filled the air. Off to the sides, there came rattles, creaks, and thumps as beams and hinges folded out and snapped into position, their cables pulling taut. With a rushing sound, the windmill-like propellers began spinning, slowly at first, then moving faster and faster until they were only so many pale blurs.

Slowly, the airship rose out of its hidden cavern.

Sapphire gasped and ran to the railing, staring down wide-eyed as the crack in the desert closed beneath them.

"Look! Look at this! It's flying! We're _flying_!"

Cen could not help but laugh, though he too looked around in amazement.

"Well, that's kind of the point, isn't it?"

Rath looked around with rather forced calm, holding his hat in place to keep it from being swept away by the gusts from the propellers. Estel, on the other hand, ran to the railing as well, staring down at the ground and then up at the many devices keeping the ship aloft.

"This…" He spun around to look at the others, his grin somehow managing to widen. "…is the best thing _ever_! Just look at all this!" He ran back to the pedestal. "How do you steer? Let's go fly over Crescent Lake and scare everyone!"

"I do not know," Rath said, sounding as though he was only half paying attention. His gaze remained on the levistone. "And until I do, kindly go sit somewhere and take a few deep breaths to calm yourself. You are being rather distracting."

Estel managed to stay still for about five seconds. Then the suspense became too much for him; he gave a dramatic groan and circled around to the other side of the pedestal, peering around Rath to look at the levistone himself.

"Lemme try, Rath, please? I wanna see what it can do!"

Rath started to protest, but before he could utter even one word, Estel reached out and touched one of the blue squares on the levistone.

A hiss, just audible over the noise of the engine, came from below deck. The lights in the levistone flickered. More hisses, accompanied by jets of steam, burst out from all along the edge of the deck just past the railing as dozens of little wooden slats flipped open. A white glow flickered in the gap the slats revealed, then a translucent, green-gold dome of light formed over the deck. At once, the wind stirred up by the propellers ceased, leaving the companions in undisturbed air.

This time, it was Rath who rushed, wide-eyed and astonished, to the railing, staring at the bubble of light.

"NulGale!" he gasped. "It's generating a NulGale spell!"

Only Cen looked surprised at Rath's slip from his usual precise diction: Sapphire was too busy staring in wonder and amazement at the magical barrier, and Estel was getting ready to take full advantage of having the levistone all to himself. He cracked his knuckles and set to work.

"Okay! Let's get this thing goin'!"

He touched another blue dot. This time, there came a deck-vibrating rattle and a high, mechanical whine. The noises terminated with a dull thump somewhere below. Cen went to the railing and looked down.

"You just opened up a gangway," he said.

Estel blinked. "What? Damn, that's not what I wanted…"

He looked back at the levistone and pressed the same dot. The noises, sans thump, repeated themselves, and Cen reported that the hatch was closing.

"Okay," Estel muttered, half to himself. "Let's try _movin'_ now, huh?"

Instead of touching one of the dots, he pressed his finger to one of the thin blue lines, and the blue light disappeared past where his finger was set. Only faint sounds came from below deck this time; louder now were the sounds of the propellers shifting and increasing their speed. At once, the airship shot upward, throwing the companions, bar Estel, to the deck.

Estel yelped and removed his finger from the stone at once. The light resumed its course, and the airship shuddered and slowed to a halt.

"Aheh…" Estel gave a sheepish grin as the others hauled themselves to their feet. "Sorry. Didn't think it'd go that fast." He turned back to the levistone and rubbed his hands together. "Well, let's try this again!"

Estel's experimentation went on for over an hour, and by the end of it, the other companions were getting motion-sick. In his attempts to work out the controls, he set the ship spinning in place like a top, nearly plunged it bow first into the sand below more than once, and sent it shooting backward across the desert like a cork shot out of a bottle. Rath at last managed to intervene, and once he did, more useful progress was made: determining which lines controlled which functions, how to control speed, the angles of turns, rise and descent, and so forth. Estel, though still grinning, protested that Rath's analytical approach took all the fun out of things.

"I do not see how it is 'fun' to repeatedly endanger what is perhaps our sole means of continuing this quest," Rath said.

"Yeah, yeah…" Estel waved a dismissive hand at him. "Hey, can we go out over Crescent Lake now? It'll be great; seein' this'll scare the daylights outta them. Thing's huge and even louder than Cen snoring."

Cen, standing hunched over with his hands on his knees as he tried to make his stomach stop doing cartwheels, looked up and frowned.

"I don't snore!"

"Yeah, you do," Estel said matter-of-factly. When Cen only spluttered in reply, Estel went on. "You _so_ do. Hey, Saph, doesn't Cen—"

He broke off at once as it struck him what he was doing. He stared at Sapphire, looking stunned, but Rath spoke up over the sudden silence.

"Yes, Cen, you snore, though it is not as bad as Estel would have you believe."

Cen just shook his head and bent back over, breathing deep.

"I'm gonna go check out the cabins," Estel announced. He rather pointedly kept his gaze away from the others. "You all get us going, and I'll let you know what I find." With that, he turned and disappeared into the cabin building.

* * *

Estel's delight with the _Phaëton_ showed no signs of diminishing. He made a thorough job of investigating every cabin along with the large common room in the center of them, and occasionally the others heard an exclamation from him even above the hum of the ship's engine. He made no further appearance on deck for quite some time, while Rath steered the ship back to the _Charybdis_ to retrieve their supplies before turning it northward to begin their journey to the next Shrine. One particular reason for his prolonged disappearance became clear when he finally emerged back on deck and explained it in great detail: he had discovered the water fixtures in the cabins. It completely fascinated him that little knobs and levers could cause a spout protruding from the wall to spew out water into a basin for washing, or could send a rush of water into a privy to rinse away the waste. Cen, for all that he found this amazing as well, had to chuckle over how enamored Estel was with all of it.

By the time evening began to fall, the companions already had a fair start on their journey, cruising along over Crescent at a great height to avoid the mountains. Estel had finally been persuaded to go focus his attention on something other than the toilet, and so he instead went into the cargo hold, accesible via a staircase behind the cabins, and began ransacking it. Out on the deck, Rath stood at the pedestal, steering the ship, while Cen leaned against the railing nearby and watched. Sapphire stood at the opposite railing nearer to the bow with her hood pushed back, staring out with round, awe-filled eyes over the mountains and billowed clouds. On the western horizon, the sun had nearly set, staining everything gold and pink and scarlet.

Estel emerged from the hold, looking somewhat subdued now and clutching something behind his back. He rounded the corner of the cabins but stopped rather than proceed out onto the main deck. He stood there for a moment, watching Sapphire and fiddling with the small object in his hands. Finally, he drew a deep breath and strode across the deck. He stopped just a few feet away from Sapphire.

"Um, Saph?"

Sapphire drew a sharp breath, surprised out of her reverie, and turned to look at Estel. Her face colored.

"Oh… Um, hello, Estel…"

"Hi. Um…" Estel took a breath, trying to gather himself. He could not quite meet Sapphire's eye, so he glanced away to the other side of the deck instead. "Look, I…" He sighed and turned back to Sapphire. "I messed up pretty bad. I mean…" He gave a short, hollow laugh. "I told you I wasn't any good at this kinda stuff, didn't I?"

Sapphire just continued watching him and did not answer. Estel's demeanor became more serious, and he cleared his throat before continuing.

"Yeah, I guess I was just…I was bein' stupid and got carried away. I mean, I didn't even think that you didn't…um…anyway, I guess I just had things figured out wrong. And I feel really bad about what happened. So, I'm sorry."

He took his hands out from behind his back and held a small, flat wooden box out to Sapphire.

"Here. I found this down in the hold, and, well…call it a…" He thought for a moment and shrugged one shoulder. "…a peace offering."

Sapphire hesitated, then reached out and took the box from him.

"Thank you…"

Estel shrugged again. "I just thought…yeah, since I can kinda tell that you don't really…um, y'know." He gestured vaguely between the pair of them. "With us, then… And that's fine, really, I mean, whatever you want is okay with me. It's just…" He gave a faintly hopeful smile. "We can still just be friends like we were before, right?"

Again, Sapphire did not answer, though this time it was because she was looking at the box and did not seem to have heard his question. She opened the lid and gasped: inside lay a beautiful gold hair clasp, delicate-looking and intricately made, dotted with little gems of an exquisite, deep blue speckled with flecks of gold. Sapphire lifted the clasp from the box to examine it, her eyes round.

"Oh, it's _beautiful_…"

Estel perked up a little.

"You like it?"

Sapphire nodded.

Estel's expression lifted further. "Oh. Oh, good. I mean, I thought you would, so, um, yeah. Great. And, y'know," he added hastily, "this doesn't hafta be some big thing; I mean, I'm not tryin' to make you change your mind or anything. Like I said, if you don't, y'know, feel like that about me, we can just—"

"I _do_ feel like that," Sapphire interrupted. She dropped her gaze, not able to meet Estel's eye.

Estel stopped and stared at her. He tried to respond, but he only succeeded in producing a couple of disjointed half-syllables before giving up. Sapphire continued.

"I guess…" She blushed darker. "I guess I'm not any good at this kind of thing either. And I…I've just been too shy around you to let you know I…" She trailed off, keeping her gaze lowered and biting her lip.

Estel looked as though he did not quite know what to think about this. He blinked and again tried to speak several times without success before he finally got his voice to work, somehow sounding both hopeful and cautious.

"…Really? I mean, you're sure—?"

"Yes," Sapphire said, again speaking before he could finish his question. She gave a firm nod. She set the clasp back in its box and glanced at Estel, but she only managed to keep his gaze for a couple of seconds before she had to look away again.

A few moments of stunned silence passed. Estel stared at the nervous Sapphire, looking as though he scarcely dared to believe this turn of events, then a broad smile spread across his face and he gave a breathless, almost relieved laugh.

"Wow. I didn't even think…" He put one hand to his head, his expression warmer and less uncomfortable. "You could've said something sooner."

Sapphire drew a deep breath and sort of shrugged. She seemed to be resisting the urge to fiddle with her sleeves.

"I just…I needed time to think about…about everything, that's all."

"Yeah, I understand." Estel smiled. "Saph…"

Sapphire looked up at him. "Hm?"

Estel opened his mouth to speak again, but then he stopped. After only a flicker of hesitation, he crossed the short distance between them and embraced her, this time more gentle and affectionate than had been the last. Sapphire drew a quick breath, but she also returned the gesture, tentatively resting her head against his shoulder. Estel visibly relaxed, releasing a quiet sigh, and held her closer.

Around them, the sky began to darken to crimson, purple, and blue as the sun fell further behind the horizon.

Estel loosened his hold on Sapphire just enough to back up a step, and Sapphire straightened up and looked at him. He gave a small smile and, again far more calmly and with more sentiment, leaned in and kissed her. A bit of unease showed briefly on Sapphire's face, but she did not pull away. Estel drew back, looked at Sapphire as though checking her reaction, then he grinned, gave another short, breathless laugh, and kissed her again, this time deeper and with more energy, drawing her close against him. Both startled and overwhelmed, Sapphire went rigid, half clinging to him and half pressing away; but, in the face of the sudden, insistent force, she almost could not help but begin, in her timid way, to respond.

"Okay, that's enough, you two," Cen called from across the deck, to his credit managing not to look too amused. "If you want to keep that up, take it somewhere where we don't have to see you."

Sapphire broke off the kiss at once with a gasp, as though she had forgotten Cen and Rath were present. Breathing hard, she turned away in embarrassment and shut her eyes, for a moment looking almost relieved. Estel frowned over at the others.

"Moment killer!"

"It is just as well," Rath replied. "That was becoming indecent." He jerked his head, motioning for Estel to come over. "I wish to retire; come take the helm."

Estel started to say something, then he stopped, looked down at Sapphire still enfolded in his arms, and looked back at Rath.

"Can't Cen do it?"

Rath raised an eyebrow.

"I had presumed you would want to do so. After all, you are nearly as enamored with this vessel as you are with our dear healer, and this, at least, has the novelty of being something new."

"_This_ is new," Estel said, looking at Sapphire out of the corner of his eye.

As though she sensed his glance, Sapphire looked up at him.

"You can go ahead and steer, if you want, Estel. I actually wanted to go…" She hesitated, then backed up and rephrased her statement. "I wanted to go to my room too; I'm really kind of sleepy."

Estel immediately nodded.

"Okay, sure. Whatever you need." He released her from the embrace and kissed her once more, this time on the cheek. He smiled. "Sleep good, Saph."

"Thank you."

Estel turned and crossed the deck to take Rath's place at the pedestal. Rath said nothing to him, just turning away and starting toward the cabins. He took his time about this, however, tarrying so that he and Sapphire would reach the door at the same time. He arrived just a couple of steps before, and he held the door open for her. Sapphire murmured a quiet 'thank you' as she entered.

"What an _interesting_ turn of events," Rath commented, his tone noncommittal, as he followed her into the common room. Lights, powered by the same force that gave the ship flight, illuminated the spacious, comfortable chamber, and the low, wickerwork chairs and sofas looked none the worse for having been buried for four hundred years. "I do hope you are quite certain you know what you are doing."

Sapphire stared at him, her eyes round with alarm.

"Wh…what do you mean?"

Rath's expression stayed perfectly inscrutable. "What do you think I mean?"

"I…"

"Sleep well, Sapphire." Rath inclined his head to her, turned away, and went to the cabin at the far corner of the common room. He entered and shut the door behind him, leaving Sapphire in the common room.

She retreated to her own room shortly afterward.


	26. What Goes Up Must Come Down

**Chapter 26: What Goes Up Must Come Down**

"'Morning!"

Sapphire jumped and nearly dropped her comb as Estel plopped down behind her on her bed and looped his arms around her waist. She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath to try to calm down.

"Please don't sneak in like that…"

"Sorry," Estel said at once with more than a note of sincerity in his voice, but then he grinned. "I'll make more noise next time, okay?"

Sapphire sighed. "All right."

Estel watched as Sapphire resumed combing her hair, a half-vacant look in his eyes. When she was finished, he shook himself out of it and pulled her back into a tighter hug. Sapphire gave a yelp of surprise, in spite of something similar having happened on each of the past few mornings, and this time she actually did drop the comb; it hit the floor with a clatter. Surprise had apparently been Estel's goal, however, because he just gave a good-natured laugh and then buried his face against her hair, breathing deep.

"You always smell so good," he said, his voice muffled. "I could seriously sit here all day and just…breathe you."

Sapphire went pink, and she did not look entirely certain how to respond. Estel had been saying a lot of things like that lately: stating, apropos of nothing, something he found attractive or liked about her. This stream of compliments seemed to have been building up for a while, with Estel now determined to voice as many of them as he could as quickly as possible.

"I…um…" Sapphire gave up trying to think of a direct answer. "Estel, I…I, um, do still need to do my braid."

"Oh, right." Estel straightened up at once and smoothed out where his face had been pressed. "There you go."

"Thank you."

Sapphire drew her hair forward and started braiding it. Once she was partway done, Estel leaned in again, this time to let his head rest on her shoulder.

"How come you haven't worn that hair thing I gave you yet?" he asked.

Sapphire paused and looked over at the small dressing table that stood against the opposite wall. The gold clasp sat atop it, still in its box but with the lid open.

"Oh. I just…well, it's so lovely, I feel like I should save it…you know, for special occasions."

Estel smiled. "Fair enough."

He sat quietly for a moment, watching Sapphire resume her braiding. As she neared the end, he shifted a bit and started nuzzling her neck. Sapphire halted at once, her eyes going round, but she forced herself to relax. She let out a slow breath and, quite involuntarily, shivered. Estel paused and smiled a little, looking thoroughly pleased with himself for eliciting a positive response, then resumed his ministrations.

Sapphire managed to keep enough composure to finish off her braid, but only just. Estel's attentions started growing more insistent, and it took Sapphire off-guard; she drew a quick breath out of surprise, but she also found herself relaxing unbidden at the touch of his lips. Color, not entirely attributable to her usual blushing, rose in her cheeks, and she started to sound rather breathless. Her hands dropped down and twined around Estel's where they lay at her waist, but at this, she caught herself. Her eyes widened, she drew a deep, steadying breath, and she tried to bring herself back into a more dignified posture. Her eyes flicked to the door.

"Estel, we should…ohh…" An unexpected sigh escaped her as Estel did something particularly interesting, and she promptly lost her train of thought. She struggled to catch it again as her body, rather mutinously, slipped back to relaxing into his caresses. She gave her head a little shake and tried to straighten up again. "No, no, really, we need to stop and go outside; otherwise Rath's going to come in after us."

Estel made a dismissive sort of noise. Rath had, in Estel's opinion, been completely unreasonable, not letting Estel and Sapphire be anywhere within arm's length of each other when they were out where anyone could see them. Moments like this in Sapphire's cabin—or wherever else Estel managed to arrange them—were Estel's rebellion against Rath's prudish supervision. Sapphire, on the other hand, tried to keep out on deck as much as possible; she explained this to Estel as not wanting to ignore their other companions, but Rath gave her a very knowing look whenever she said this.

Taking another moment to collect herself, Sapphire spoke again.

"Estel, please?"

Estel withdrew a fraction of an inch and sighed, making Sapphire shiver again as his breath tickled her neck.

"Yeah, okay." He dropped a final kiss before sitting up straight and loosening his hold on Sapphire's waist. "Just one last thing…"

Estel waited for Sapphire to twist around to look at him, then he leaned in and kissed her, this time not intense, but gentle and lingering. Though this parting kiss had become something of a ritual, Sapphire, still reeling, half-sighed and responded more than usual. Estel drew back, and Sapphire fell in toward him and stopped herself just in time, looking quite startled and breathing hard. He smiled at her as she straightened up, though he was a little out of breath himself. Not waiting for comment, he released her, got to his feet, and started to back toward the door.

"See you outside in a minute, okay?"

Sapphire nodded. "All right."

Estel shot her a grin and slipped out of the room, shutting the door after him. Sapphire gave a shaky exhalation and slumped down where she sat, putting her hands to her cheeks as though to press away the bright patches of color. She did not seem to be able to decide whether to be frustrated with herself or confused by what was happening. Her gaze went to the door, her eyebrows knitted together, then she bit her lip and looked down at the fallen comb, giving another long breath and hugging her elbows tight.

* * *

The _Phaëton_ had not ceased to amaze during the few days the companions had been traveling. Even aside from being able to move at incredible speed, covering in five days what would have taken months to travel on foot, it also possessed any number of fascinating additional functions. In addition to the NulGale barrier, the ship could also generate other protective spells, like the ones Sapphire had used before in Mount Gulg and the ice cavern. This was only the beginning of the ship's capabilities, and Rath, when not busy chaperoning Estel and Sapphire, studied all that he could.

Thus far, the journey had passed without incident. The companions had traveled north-northwest from Ryukahn Desert, intending to come to Onrac from the south-east. Another reason for their course lay in Pravoka City: they made a brief stop there to replenish the airship's water supply and to visit Elend—and, though he never stated this purpose directly, so Rath could post a final letter to Cornelia before leaving for the isolated north.

To his credit, Cen did not snicker at this at all when he found out about it.

Elend had brought Pravoka back under control, and the place looked so different that the companions hardly recognized it. Estel received, to his delight, a more detailed account of what Elend and his crew had inflicted on Bikke, only telling the others later that in his current state, "he's just about worse than dead, as far as he figures." Right before the group left to continue their journey, Cen told Elend where they had left the _Charybdis_ and informed him the ship was now his.

"Well, what're we going to do with it?" he asked with a grin when Elend, looking stunned, started to protest. "We have the airship now. Besides, 'Admiral Elend Venture' has kind of a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

Elend could only laugh and concede the point.

Pravoka now lay two days behind them, the _Phaëton_ making its way over the wide ocean north of Cornelia. Rath would occasionally stop whatever he was doing, go to the side of the airship, and look down at the slate-colored water, his expression blank and his hands tight on the railing. He always stopped this and went back to his previous occupation before anyone could comment, however.

When Estel emerged from the cabins, Rath and Cen were both out on deck, Rath at the steering pedestal and Cen sitting nearby and checking his chainmail for rust. As soon as he heard the door open, Rath turned around to watch, his eyes narrowed a bit beneath his hat, as Estel stepped outside and approached him and Cen.

"Finally. Come take this."

Estel gave Rath a sour look but moved to take his place at the pedestal all the same. Making him man the helm whenever possible had proven to be Rath's favorite method of making certain Estel left Sapphire alone, a fact which Estel caught onto very fast. Still, as he did enjoy flying the ship, he refrained from protesting too much.

Cen looked up from his work.

"So how's Sapphire?"

Estel contrived to look innocent. "Wha—?"

"Please." Rath gave him a dull look. "Precisely how stupid do you believe us to be? And do answer that: I am quite curious as to your exact thoughts."

Estel had the good sense to keep his mouth shut, instead focusing on steering the airship. No clouds obscured the sky that day, the sun bright as it hung about halfway between the horizon and its zenith, so the path ahead was plain; all that was necessary was to keep the ship going in the right direction.

Only a few minutes passed before Sapphire came outside as well, just finishing pinning up her long braid. Estel of course noticed her arrival first, half-turning to look back and greet her, but before he could speak, Rath intervened, yet another action that had become something of a habit lately.

"Sapphire. Good morning."

"Oh." Sapphire stopped short. "Good morning, Rath…"

She moved to put up her hood, but Rath, eyes narrowed, stepped forward and stopped her; he took hold of her chin and turned her head so he could see the side of her neck, and particularly a faint pink mark on it. Sapphire froze, biting her lip, as Rath studied this in prickly silence. After a moment, he muttered something in another language, then went back to Common, his tone sharp.

"From here on, at least one of you will be where I can see you at all times. This has gone quite far enough."

Estel shouted in protest and spun around to face Rath, the airship slowing as his hands left the levistone.

"What?! Why? That's stupid!"

"Because of this." Rath turned Sapphire so Estel could see the mark on her neck; Estel reacted more to Rath's action, however, bristling at the force used. "Do you truly have no self-control whatsoever? How can you think this sort of behavior is acceptable?"

"What we wanna spend time doin' isn't any of your business!"

"That does not change the fact that such things are in no way an appropriate indulgence for the pair of you. Even had you engaged in a proper courtship rather than simply flinging yourselves at one another, this would not be considered decent."

Estel opened his mouth to protest, but Rath cut him off.

"I will speak with you about this later. Get us underway again; I am going to have a few words with Sapphire."

Rath took Sapphire by the arm and steered her away, taking her behind the cabins. Just audible over the whirring of the propellers, Estel's ranting at the unfairness of it all could be heard.

Once they were out of sight, Rath released Sapphire and turned to look at her. He did not speak; he just stood and watched. Sapphire shuffled in discomfort under his stare, chewing on her lower lip and unable to look him in the eye.

"I know," she said after a minute, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"No, Sapphire, I rather doubt you do." Rath did not snap this, instead speaking with uniform calmness. "If you did, you would not have instigated this situation."

"I…"

"I am going to explain matters to Estel. This has already gone much too far."

Sapphire's eyes widened. "Rath, no!"

Rath just stared at her. Sapphire shrank back at once.

"I just…you can't do anything yet, I'm still—"

"I am perfectly capable of doing anything I want. And, to be blunt, I have been extremely accommodating up until now, though I do not doubt this will be regretted by all involved before much longer."

Sapphire stared back at him, almost pleading. "Rath…"

"What is your actual stance on this matter?"

The pair watched each other for a moment, then Sapphire dropped her gaze again.

"…I don't know."

"And until you _do_ know," Rath said, his tone and gaze hardening, "you are in no way justified in protesting as you are. You have no idea what you are doing, and the problems created by that fact will only worsen as the situation continues to escalate."

"But—"

"I have said all I wish to say to you. If you desire to address matters with Estel yourself, you are certainly welcome to do so. If not, then I am afraid you leave me no choice but to intervene."

Rath turned and left, leaving Sapphire staring desperately after him.

The rest of the day passed in various degrees of unpleasantness for the Light Warriors, bar Cen, who had the night shift for manning the helm and so spent most of the day asleep. Estel, fuming over Rath's new condition, seemed to be purposefully trying to fly as poorly as he could just so Rath would tell him to stop and go do something else. He stopped this at once, however, when Sapphire came back from behind the cabins quite some time after her discussion with Rath. She looked unwell, hugging herself tightly, her face pale. Estel stared at her.

"Saph! What's wrong?"

Sapphire looked at him, taking in his worried expression, then she turned away, her gaze going briefly to Rath sitting nearby with a book.

"I'm just…I don't feel very well all of a sudden, that's all."

"Ah, I'm sorry," Estel said, and he looked it; his concerned tone only made Sapphire more determined not to look at him, however. "Maybe you oughta go lie down for a while, huh?"

Though Sapphire did agree with this, nodding and disappearing into her cabin at once, she had a difficult time complying. For several hours, she wandered back outside at intervals, watching Estel steer, her expression horribly torn, before returning inside again before anyone could speak to her. Rath's eyes remained fixed on her whenever she appeared, narrowing a bit in displeasure each time. After about the fifth time this happened, however, he gave a resigned, exasperated sigh, shook his head, and turned his attention back to his book. He did not bother with her after that, and shortly thereafter, Sapphire stopped reappearing outside.

Just after the sun set, Cen came back outside to take his turn at the steering pedestal. Estel activated the outside lights, then released the levistone and went inside, bidding only a brief good night to Cen as he went. Rath rose and followed, but Estel ignored him.

Instead of going to his own cabin, Estel stopped at Sapphire's door and knocked, loud enough to be audible but quiet enough that it would not disturb her if she was asleep. A few seconds later, Sapphire opened the door, and she did not appear to be able to make up her mind whether she was glad or upset to see Estel there. She still looked pale, her braid now a bit flyaway.

"Hey," Estel said, giving her a bolstering sort of smile. "I was just about to turn in, and I wanted to check if you were feelin' any better."

"I'm…" Sapphire caught sight of Rath entering the common room out of the corner of her eye, and she faltered, averting her gaze. "I don't know. I think…well, maybe I just need to get some sleep."

Estel nodded. "Yeah, I bet that's it." Though he was usually rather enthusiastic about bidding her good night, this evening he simply embraced her and kissed her on the cheek. "Sleep good, okay? I hope you get feelin' better."

"Thank you, I will."

"And you can come get me if you need anything."

"All right."

Estel released her, and she disappeared back into her cabin, the latch settling into place with a quiet click. He turned to go to his own room but stopped short: Rath stood blocking his way. Estel glared.

"_Now_ what? There's no way in hell there was anything wrong with that."

He stepped to the side and continued on his course without waiting for a response. Rath did not move to stop him, but when the two were level with one another, he spoke, sounding perfectly calm.

"She is lying to you."

Estel gave a snort of derision.

"Yeah, 'cause I'm gonna believe you over her. That's real funny, Rath."

"I confronted her concerning it earlier today," Rath went on, ignoring Estel's dismissal. "I informed her that if she would not tell you of her deception, I would; the next portion of our journey will be difficult enough without that added burden. She could not bring herself to do so. That is, I imagine, why she is so stricken at the moment."

Estel turned around and glared at Rath's back.

"No, it's not. You're bein' stupid. Saph wouldn't lie to me, especially about something like this."

"You are too blinded by your affection for her. You consistently see what you desire to see rather than what is actually there."

"I'm—!"

"You will hear me out, Estel," Rath snapped, finally turning to face him. "And I will only explain this once, so kindly pay attention."

Estel glared but made no attempt to interrupt. Rath continued.

"Given how much attention you lave on her, I am shocked you have not noticed the discrepancies in her behavior. I have observed them regularly from our first evening on this vessel onward. Though I should have, I never interrogated her as to her motive for this deception, and I have unwisely kept silent on what I do know only at her behest. She insisted she knew what she was doing. Only today was I fully convinced that was most certainly not the case, and so I now bring this information to you."

"_You're_ lyin'," Estel said, scowling and sounding petulant. His posture began to stiffen. "She wouldn't do something like that."

"And yet, she is." Rath's eyes narrowed, gleaming in the lamplight. "I am telling you this now, before things have the chance to go any farther."

"I wouldn't—!"

"This has all gone too far even as it stands."

"She—"

"She is lying, and doing so poorly. Her discomfort around you is only slightly less well disguised than her complete lack of reciprocation to your advances. How you could have possibly missed seeing these things is utterly beyond my comprehension."

Estel glared at Rath, breathing hard, his shoulders tight and his fists clenched.

"You're wrong," he said through gritted teeth.

"If you do not believe me," Rath said, his tone cool, "by all means, ask her yourself. Better yet…" He produced something from inside his sleeve and tossed it to Estel: the compass from the sages. "…let this ask her. You will be assured an honest answer that way."

Estel caught the compass out of the air and looked at it: though the long needle now only wavered somewhat, the shorter still spun in manic circles. Estel tightened his hand around the compass and glowered at Rath.

"You're an asshole."

Rath did not retort or protest. Estel turned away and stormed to his room, slamming the door behind him. Showing no emotion beyond what might have been a touch of resignation, Rath retired to his own room as well.

* * *

Estel slept very poorly that night. He tossed and turned, frowning into the darkness, his hand occasionally going to the compass on the nightstand beside his bed. Though he managed to doze for a short time around midnight, by three o'clock he gave up entirely: he left his room and went to sit in one of the large chairs in the common room, sprawled unceremoniously with compass in hand. A thin stripe of light came in from under the door leading outside, and Estel sat and watched it, waiting for it to turn golden with the sunrise.

When it did, Estel rose, turned on the common room lights, and crossed to Sapphire's door. He knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again. "Sapphire?"

Inside the room, there came the sound of rustling bedclothes and a quiet groan. The rustling repeated itself, accompanied by the sounds of someone fumbling their way out of bed. For all this show, however, when Sapphire opened the door, she looked remarkably alert for someone who had supposedly just woken up.

"Estel? What is it? It can't be morning yet…"

A look of suppressed wariness started to come over her, and this time it did not go unnoticed: Estel only just managed not to wince as he saw the change come over her. He swallowed and looked away.

"I need to ask you something."

Sapphire's eyes went round. "What?"

A short, pregnant silence fell. Estel drew a breath and looked at Sapphire.

"Have you—? No, wait…"

He hesitated, then took her hand and pressed the compass into it. Sapphire stared at him, looking more and more alarmed, and he kept his eyes fixed on her face, not daring to look at the needles of the compass. His expression became somewhat desperate.

"Have you been lyin' to me?"

Sapphire's breathing started growing unsteady. "A-about what?" she asked, more just mouthing the words than speaking them aloud.

"You know what about."

Sapphire did not answer, but she did back away, trying to pull her hand free of Estel's grip. As he watched her reaction, his face paled, but it blanched completely when he looked down at the compass, its needles spinning first one way and then the other with near-frantic speed.

"You are," he said quietly, not looking up, his tone unreadable. "This whole time, you've been…"

"Estel…" Sapphire's voice started to shake. "I…no, it's—"

"Don't." Estel lifted his gaze to meet hers, anger and hurt and betrayal in his eyes. He released her hand, and it fell to her side, compass still clutched in it. "Just don't. I don't wanna hear whatever excuse you have. Rath was completely right, wasn't he? Everything he told me—"

Estel broke off, staring at Sapphire. A flicker of realization dawned in his eyes, only to be swallowed up by sudden, unadulterated horror. He took a step backward, eyes going wide as they went over Sapphire's face and figure.

"Ah, gods. Ah, _gods_, no, no, no, no…"

Looking nearly as wounded as he had, Sapphire took a step after him, but he just backed farther away, shaking his head. Sapphire stopped at once, trembling.

"Estel, please—"

"Don't," Estel said again, but this time his voice had an altogether different tone: not sharp, but shaky and almost panicked. "I'm…just don't talk to me anymore."

He turned and made for the door leading outside, stumbling and almost tripping as though in a daze. He fell against the door, then he yanked it open and staggered out on deck. Cen's exclamation of surprise came through the open doorway a moment later.

Sapphire stared after Estel, too alarmed and conflicted to move. The quiet sound of another door opening broke through her stupor: Rath exiting his cabin. As soon as she saw him, Sapphire's face twisted in anger and distress, and she burst into tears.

"How could you?! You didn't even give me a chance!"

She threw the compass at him as hard as she could, then she whirled back into her cabin, slamming the door behind her.

Before the sound of it even faded, Cen called from outside:

"_Someone_ has about ten seconds to get out here and explain what just happened!"

Rath did not look surprised by any of this. Perfectly calm, he crossed the common room and stepped outside to respond to Cen's demand.

* * *

"Estel? Estel, I know you're down here."

Cen made his way through the _Phaëton_'s cavernous, dimly-lit hold, weaving through the tall stacks of crates and roped-together barrels. The cool air smelled of wet metal thanks to the water storage tanks. The engine sounded much louder here without the layers of the deck to muffle the sound, but even over that, Cen could hear crates being shoved around and rifled through. He made his way in the direction of the noises.

"Estel, would you just come talk to me? Rath's explained everything, I know—"

Wherever he was, Estel groaned as though in pain. The sounds of moving crates became faster and more frantic. Cen sighed.

"Okay, fine," he muttered to himself.

He rounded a tower of crates and finally caught sight of Estel off to the side by one of the massive water tanks. He stood in the middle of what looked like a disaster zone, upended and damaged crates and their contents scattered around him. Cen watched as he dug through another container and, not finding what he sought, shoved it aside with a grunt, nearly overturning it. He started into another crate.

Cen walked toward him.

"Estel, what are you doing?"

No reply.

Cen sighed, then walked over and slammed the lid of the crate shut, just barely missing Estel's fingers.

"What are you doing?" he repeated more sternly.

Estel glowered at him, but the expression did little to cover the despairing, almost broken look on his face.

"What the hell's it look like I'm doing?!"

He spun away and accosted a different crate. Expression hardening, Cen followed him.

"Estel—"

"Bottles, okay?!" Estel snapped. "I'm lookin' for all this…booze or something I found before, and I'm gonna drink it until I pass out and don't wake up!" He pulled the lid off a crate, flung it aside, and started digging through the contents.

Cen stared at him, not sure whether to look alarmed, pitying, or just confused. He finally managed to speak.

"…You're going to drink yourself into a coma just because Saph lied to you?"

Estel shook his head, hard. Confusion taking over, Cen went on.

"Look, if she really did that—"

"Stop it!" Estel screamed, and his voice echoed startlingly loud through the cool air of the hold. He stopped digging and froze half-hunched over the crate, hands white-knuckled on the edge of it. "Don't blame her, it's not her fault!"

Cen gaped at Estel.

"…What?"

Estel's tension and manic energy fled in an instant, and he sagged against the crate. His arms shook.

"It ain't her fault," he said, his voice taut and shaking. "It was me, I'm…it's…" He was breathing hard. "It isn't her fault she was too scared to tell the truth." He rallied somewhat and began hunting through the crate again.

Cen watched him as he rummaged, the anxiety visibly returning, but said nothing. His brow furrowed, his confusion starting to mix with frustration.

"Estel, what are you talking about? She's the one who—"

"Dammit, Cen, _stop it_!" Estel straightened up and rounded on him. "It doesn't matter what she did! It was _me_, I was…I never meant—" He broke off, giving his head a sharp shake, his face twisting as though he was in excruciating pain.

Cen frowned.

"Start making sense before I have to beat some into you."

"Fine! Go ahead and hit me! I deserve it!"

And, against all logic, Estel pushed himself forward and took a swing at Cen.

As much as this stunned him, Cen kept his wits enough to block; he grabbed Estel by the wrist and twisted his arm up behind his back, pinning it. Estel howled in pain.

"Make sense, please," Cen said, speaking quite calmly.

The response came in a strangled rush.

"I said I wouldn't, wouldn't be like that, ever, but I did, and now I'm not any better than _he_ is!"

Silence fell, broken only by Estel's heavy, ragged breathing and the rumble of the airship's engine. Cen stared at the back of Estel's head, half in shock and half in realization. His grip slackened just a little.

"So that's it," he said, quiet. "Okay. I get it now." He started pulling Estel away from the mess he had made. "Come on. You've got to explain this to Saph."

Estel immediately roused back into a fury. He jerked away from Cen, kicking and thrashing to try to free himself.

"_No_! Leggo of me, I'm not gonna—!"

Cen's expression hardened, and he swept Estel's feet out from under him, sending him to the floor with a nasty thud. Before Estel could do more than give a shout of pain, he had both arms pinned up behind him and Cen's knee digging into the small of his back. Cen kept Estel's arms still with one hand, while with the other he grabbed Estel's head and forced him to turn and look at him.

"You're going to go talk to her."

His tone left no room for argument. This did not, however, stop Estel continuing to try to fight his way free and shouting vehement protests as Cen hauled him up to his feet and marched him out of the hold and on deck into the bright noonday sunlight.

Rath stood at the steering pedestal, guiding the ship northward, a thin line of cloud now gracing the horizon ahead. He looked over as Cen and Estel came into view, and he raised an eyebrow as he took in the sight. Cen exchanged a glance with him, but neither of them said anything.

Cen towed Estel into the common room, crossed to Sapphire's door, and pounded on it hard enough to make it rattle in its frame. Sapphire answered at once. She looked awful, her face bearing the telltale signs of prolonged weeping. Her eyes went round and all the color left her face as she saw Estel.

Cen gave a too-cheerful smile, and when he spoke his tone matched it.

"Hi, Sapphire. Estel here has something he wants to talk to you about."

"No, Cen, I don't wanna, don't make me—ah!"

Estel broke off with a gasp as Cen twisted his arms harder. Sapphire cringed, her hand going to her mouth. Cen's expression and tone did not change, however.

"And I bet you have something you want to talk to him about, too, right? Of course you do. So I'm going to leave the two of you in this room so you can talk and get this _all_ straightened out."

He loosed Estel and pushed him into Sapphire's room; Sapphire jumped out of the way just in time to avoid him. At once, Estel spun around and tried to dash past Cen to freedom, but Cen caught him in the chest and pushed him back, and he hit the floor with a thud. Estel looked up at Cen, both pleading and angry.

"You can't leave me in here! It's…I can't—"

"I can and I will," Cen said, now scowling. "Just watch me."

Sapphire started to speak, but Estel's continued, much louder protests drowned out her tremulous supplication. None of this mattered, though, as Cen, looking suddenly furious, bellowed over them, stunning them into silence.

"_I am not going to put up with this anymore_! You two are being complete idiots! You've already spent _three months_ where you couldn't so much as _look_ at each other, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you start it back up because of some stupid thing! It was bad enough before, but if you think we need this going on while we're out trying to fight a _Fiend_ then you're both even stupider than you're acting!" He jabbed a finger at them. "You'll stay in this room until you get yourselves figured out! I don't care how this ends up, whether you love each other or whether you hate each other, but you better figure out _something_, and do it fast! We have more important things to deal with!"

He slammed the door so hard that the frame cracked. His footsteps retreated across the common room, but neither Estel nor Sapphire dared to make a bid for freedom. Moments later, the footsteps returned, there came the sound of Cen doing something to the door handle, then he left again. His footsteps went to the right, there again came the sound of a rattling doorknob, then he went to the left and outside.

Silence reigned.

Shaking, Estel got to his feet and tugged on the door handle. It gave a little and, encouraged, he pulled harder. The door swung in an inch or two, just enough to let Estel see out and notice the rope tied around the outside handle, before it jerked shut. Estel tried again but only got the same results. He stared at the door for a while, his expression blank, then he half-turned away and slumped against it, sliding down to sit curled up on the floor. He kept his back to Sapphire.

Sapphire stood and watched him, her hands limp at her sides, her expression a mixture of fear, guilt, and dismay. Even as he sat there, giving no signs he intended to even glance at her, she continued to stand, waiting. Only after over ten minutes had passed did she move, going to sit on the edge of her bed. She started to look teary again, her breath hitching just a little, as the awful silence persisted.

It seemed as though hours passed; whether or not this was actually so, the pair could not tell. Sapphire began crying silently, dabbing at her eyes with her sleeves. Estel just remained hunched against the door, his knees drawn up to his chest.

Finally, Sapphire acted. She sniffed, drew a breath, and spoke.

"…Are you really that angry at me?"

At first, it did not seem as though Estel would answer. After a long, anxious pause, however, he shifted, just a little.

"I'm not angry at you," he said, his voice dull and flat.

Sapphire's chin quivered, and she had to take a minute to regain her composure.

"Then…then why won't you even look at me?"

Another long pause. Moving with great reluctance, Estel twisted a little and glanced back over his shoulder at Sapphire, at her sitting on the bed and watching him so intently and looking so upset. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned away at once.

"There. I looked at you. Happy?"

Sapphire bit her lip, trying to keep her breathing steady. Her fingers, as ever, went to the edges of her sleeves, but this time she just clung to them rather than picking at them. Her gaze dropped to her lap.

"Estel…"

"I told you not to talk to me."

"But Cen said—"

"I don't care what Cen said." Estel actually mustered the energy to snap this, but his listlessness returned promptly afterward. Sapphire had to strain to hear what he said next, the half-mumbled words almost drowned out by the hum of the ship. "He doesn't even know what he's talkin' about, anyway."

Another long silence overtook the room.

The ship shivered as though it had struck a rough patch of air. Sapphire looked around, her hands tightening on her sleeves.

"What was…?"

She trailed off, as Estel was not listening to her. She looked at him, frowning, then she drew a deep breath and got to her feet.

Before she could speak, the airship shook again, this time more violently, and her prepared breath came out as a little scream. The engine began to run rough, the hum unsteady and mixed with alarming rattles. The whole vessel jolted again.

The sudden jerk knocked Sapphire from her feet, and she fell back onto her bed with a thump. The turbulence roused Estel from his brooding, and he straightened up, looking around in confusion and alarm.

"What the hell?"

He got to his feet, staggering as the ship lurched again, then he pounded on the door as hard as he could.

"Cen! Cen, what's goin' on out there?!"

No answer. Estel seized the doorknob and yanked on it with all his strength, but the door only opened an inch before it jerked to a halt, caught by the rope. Gritting his teeth, Estel pulled harder, bracing his foot against the doorframe.

Through the gap, there came a screeching roar and a flash of blinding light. A thunderclap crashed through the air, and Estel and Sapphire both cried out and covered their ears. Not waiting for the sound to fade, Estel swore at the top of his lungs and renewed his assault on the door.

The jolting and shuddering worsened, becoming nonstop. Thunder rolled again.

Sapphire clung to her bed to keep herself from being thrown to the floor and watched, wide-eyed, as Estel fought with the door. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She got to her feet, stumbled to the cupboard where she had stored her things, and pulled out her mythril hammer. She hefted it up, barely managing to keep her balance as the floor rocked.

"Move!"

Estel looked up, swore again, and dodged out of the way. Sapphire swung the hammer and slammed it into the door; it dented the wood and bent the handle. She swung and hit again, and again, and again.

The handle snapped off and clattered to the floor.

One more strike, and the impact jarred the outside handle loose.

The door swung open.

Estel ran out at once. Sapphire dropped her hammer and followed him.

They emerged on deck into the middle of a raging tempest. Where, an hour before, the sky had been a perfect, clear blue, boiling black and purple clouds now hung low, lightning screaming between them and rain pounding down like arrows. Thunder roared, and typhoon winds buffeted the ship, shoving it back and forth like a child's plaything. Only the _Phaëton_'s magical shields protected the deck from this onslaught, but that did not look to last; the rattling of the engine grew worse as the ship jerked and bounced, Rath fighting to keep it in the air.

Sapphire stayed back, huddled in the doorway and staring out in horror, but Estel ran across the deck to Cen, who was clinging to the railing.

"What the hell happened?!"

"I don't know! It just came out of nowhere!"

With a thunderous snarl, long, thin fingers of cloud twisted earthward: tornadoes. High above the roar, the wind shrieked like gleeful, manic laughter.

The _Phaëton_ pitched as the nearest tornado touched down and began to widen, making straight for the ship. The jolt threw the companions to the deck, and with no one at the levistone, the ship spun out of control, tumbling end over end in the gale. The engine gave out, the propellers halted, the barriers vanished, and as the wind and rain tore across the deck, the tornado engulfed the ship and sucked it into the roaring, funneling darkness.


	27. An Unexpected Proposal

**Chapter 27: An Unexpected Proposal**

Cen regained consciousness only to be accosted by a blinding headache. He groaned and lifted his hand to his forehead, and to his surprise, he felt thick, coarse bandages under his fingers. He paused, taking this in, before doing some continued inspection: the bandages covered the whole top of his head as well as one eye, and a patch on one side felt as though it was crusted with dried blood. Judging by the pain that breathing caused, he had broken or badly bruised ribs, and these had been bandaged as well. He also, now that he was paying attention, noticed a dozen or so other twinges from various sprains, bruises, and cuts, some of which felt fairly severe.

Cen gave another quiet groan, opened his unbandaged eye, and looked around.

He lay on a thin mattress on the floor of a large stone chamber with a high ceiling and smooth walls. A few torches burned, oddly smokeless, in brackets along the walls, but not enough to fully light the space, instead giving it a twilit appearance. From where he lay, Cen could see a pair of heavy double doors off in one wall. This appeared to be the only exit, and there were no windows.

Cen risked turning his head a bit, fortunately receiving no warning twinges as he did so. Estel, Rath, and Sapphire lay on mattresses nearby, all of them either asleep or still unconscious. Cen gave a careful sigh of relief. Though they, too, all bore a number of bandages of various descriptions, at least they were all alive.

"Alive," Cen murmured to himself. He turned his gaze to the ceiling again. "Well, there's one more thing I can say I've managed to live through."

He lay quietly for a few minutes, then set about trying to sit up. He moved with deliberate slowness, trying to keep from aggravating his ribs any more than necessary, and he paid particular attention to whether any other parts of him objected to the change of position. None did, and he brought himself upright without trouble.

Beside him, there came a rustle and a groan as Estel stirred and woke. He had many abrasions on his face, one arm splinted, wrapped, and bound against his chest, and had another splint beneath the heavy bandaging around his neck. Cen did not like the look of this last in particular, and though he did look relieved when Estel began to move to roll over, he reached out to stop him, keeping him lying flat on the floor. At the touch of Cen's hand, Estel froze, going tense and drawing a sharp breath.

"It's okay," Cen said. "It's just me. Don't move; it looks like your neck's hurt pretty bad."

"…Cen?"

With some effort, Estel opened his eyes and looked up at his friend. He blinked a few times, then seemed to wilt a little.

"I'm still alive."

Cen frowned. "Well, you don't have to sound so disappointed about it."

Estel did not reply. His eyes swept the ceiling and what little of his surroundings he could see from his immobile vantage point.

"Where are we?"

"I'm…not sure," Cen said, looking around again. "It's a…" He almost said 'cave,' but changed his mind. "It's a big stone room. Rath and Sapphire are here too."

"…Oh." Estel stared resolutely upward. "Well, that's…good."

Neither spoke for a long while. Cen, growing restless, managed to get to his feet, though carefully; one ankle had been jammed and badly sprained, and he could put very little weight on it. Using the wall for support, he hobbled around and conducted a more thorough examination of the chamber. The large doors turned out to be locked, but regardless of that, Cen could not have moved them in his current state. Estel could do nothing more than stare at the ceiling and look miserable. The two mages remained motionless, the only sign of life being the slow rise and fall of their chests as they breathed.

Rath still had his hat on his head. Whoever had found them had been courteous enough to leave it in place.

Cen made his way back to his mattress, wincing a bit now with each movement. As he lowered himself to the floor, Estel spoke up.

"D'you know how we got here?"

"No idea." Cen sat down with a grunt, various bruises protesting having weight put on them. "I don't remember anything after we got sucked into that whirlwind."

Estel was quiet for a moment.

"Not even the laughing?' he asked, his voice low. "I remember the laughing…"

Cen looked over at Estel, at the solemn expression on his face, then nodded.

"Yeah, I remember that."

They lapsed into silence again.

Rath was next to wake, and he gave ample warning of this; for a few minutes before he actually roused, he talked to himself, carrying on half a conversation in a sleep-soaked mumble that would have been quite unintelligible even if it had not been in another language. After a while he trailed off, shifting in discomfort, then his eyes flicked open, barely visible in the dim light. He scanned the room with no obvious emotion and then, as Cen had, performed a brief self-examination. His arms were wrapped in bandages past his elbows, but any other injuries could not be seen thanks to his enveloping robes. He sat up stiffly, lifting one wrapped hand to his head to check that his hat was still there, then looked at Cen and Estel.

"Well. This is fortunate."

Cen nodded. "Yeah, I—"

"Ohhh…"

Sapphire shifted and gave a quiet moan. Estel immediately snapped his eyes shut and feigned sleep; Cen and Rath exchanged matched exasperated looks over the top of him before turning their attention to their final companion. She, like Cen, had bandages wrapped around her head, hers looped down under her chin and around her neck rather than covering an eye; she also had one leg in a splint nearly up to her hip, and her arms were purpled with bruises, with tight wrappings around one wrist and the opposite elbow. She did not attempt to rise; she just groaned again and shook her head.

Cen straightened up a little, looking over the others at her.

"Sapphire? Hey, are you awake?"

Sapphire drew a quick breath and opened her eyes wide. Her gaze darted around before finally coming to rest on the other companions.

"Cen…" The word came out as little more than a sigh. "Rath… You're both…" She trailed off, even this little communication tiring her. After a pause, she went on. "What happened? I remember the storm, but…"

"I…" Cen shrugged, carefully. "I guess we just crashed."

"Where? And who found us?"

Cen shook his head. "I have no idea."

With some help from Rath, Sapphire managed to sit up, though not before she checked her injuries to make certain it was safe for her to move. As she came upright, however, she caught sight of Estel and went suddenly pale.

Cen gave her a look. "Don't you dare."

"I wasn't going to." Sapphire looked up at Cen. "Is he…?"

"He's fine," Cen said, sounding a bit disgusted, the irritated expression not leaving his face. He leaned over Estel, tapping him on the forehead. "Come on, that's enough of that. You're not fooling anyone, you know."

Estel responded by making a very rude hand gesture in Cen's direction.

"Fine." Cen shook his head and looked back over at Sapphire. "Do you think you could patch us up? Only I'd really like to be breathing normally again."

Sapphire nodded, closed her eyes, and started murmuring under her breath. A few moments later, glimmers of blue-green light swirled out from her to the others, and they could feel their injuries begin to heal. When she was finished, they began removing the now unnecessary wrappings, Cen and Sapphire taking a moment to help Estel and Rath get their arms free. Cen, shooting a slightly apologetic look at Sapphire, pulled off his shirt so he could remove the bandages from around his chest; before Sapphire could do more than go red over this, Rath conjured a veil of darkness around her, both sparing her the view and allowing her privacy to remove the splint from her leg.

Once the bandages had been removed and Cen had his clothes back on, the group settled down on their mattresses and began trying to take stock of their present situation.

"Okay, so we know where we are," Cen said, ticking off the issue on a finger. "Or, we know that we don't know where we are, but that amounts to about the same. The point is, we survived, and we're not separated. That's good, anyway." He ticked up another finger. "Supplies?"

"None," Rath replied. "Aside from what we currently have on our persons, all our possessions and any other useful equipment and provisions have vanished, presumably along with the airship."

"Okay, that answers my third question too." Cen raised a third finger. "Now—"

The sound of rough scraping and heavy footsteps beyond the doors brought the conversation to a sudden halt. Sapphire froze, staring, Rath's eyes narrowed, and Cen reached for his sword in spite of it not being at his side. One of the massive doors slid partway open, revealing deep darkness beyond. The faint suggestion of a figure standing outside, little more than a blacker patch of darkness, could just barely be seen.

"So, you are awake," said a low, slightly rough voice. "That is good; my lord was beginning to grow concerned for you."

"Who are you?" Cen asked, starting to go tense. His hand clenched and unclenched, restless without a sword hilt to grasp. "Where are we?"

"In my lord's home," the voice answered with maddening vagueness. "Your vessel crashed on our island, and it's fortunate we found you as swiftly as we did; you were badly wounded, and it would have gone poorly for you had our lesser brethren reached you first. As it is, you are safe, our lord be thanked. We are no healers, but we tended you as best we could. It seems you have now completed your own recovery."

"Yeah…" Cen glanced at the others, particularly Rath, who had a look of suspicion growing in his eyes. He then looked back at the doorway "You didn't answer my first question."

"My name is not important."

"Ah." Cen exchanged another look with Rath and decided to drop the subject. "You…said our ship crashed here?"

"Yes." There came the quiet sound of the speaker shifting a little. "It was badly damaged; the Fiend of Wind unleashed nearly all her power, and her brother much of his, against you. But don't fear; we and our brethren have been repairing it while you have slept. It should be nearly completed by now."

"Oh." Cen blinked, and Estel looked somewhat relieved. "Well, that's good. Thank you."

"You are most welcome, Warriors."

The companions looked quite taken aback by this blunt statement of their title, but none more so than Rath. Shoulders stiffening and narrowed eyes gleaming in the darkness, he addressed the voice.

"Why do you not enter?"

"Some find our appearance alarming," the voice said without hesitation. "Given your recent ordeal, I did not wish to unsettle you further."

A slight tension came over the room.

"Show yourself," Rath said.

Again, there came no resistance. Both doors slid wide open, and the speaker entered the chamber, but it was no human, elf, or dwarf that came into view.

It was a dragon.

Though smaller than the dragons in the ice cavern—Cen would perhaps have come up to the top of its shoulder as it now stood on all fours—it was still an imposing sight. It kept its wings furled tight against its body so it could fit in the room, and even then its tail and most of its hindquarters remained outside. Its scales were deep black, but they reflected a faint, red-gold iridescence in the torchlight. It regarded the companions with slit-pupiled, metallic gold eyes, but the gaze was calm, with none of the blank madness the ice dragons had displayed.

"And so we meet face to face," it said. "Welcome to Cardia, Warriors of Light."

Estel's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment, then fell open. Sapphire gave a little scream, quickly stifling it behind her hands. Cen did not react beyond his hand going white-knuckled on nothing, while Rath seemed only barely able to keep himself from drawing away, his eyes wide.

"Who is your lord?" he asked, just managing to keep his voice steady.

The dragon turned its calm, shining gaze on him.

"I serve Lord Bahamut."

Absolute silence fell.

Cen and Estel both blanched, Estel in addition looking as though he was trying to sink into the floor. Rath hunched down and put his face in his hands; his posture remained taut, his shoulders almost shaking with tension. Sapphire went very pale and her eyes widened.

"Bahamut…" she whispered. "We're…we crashed on…"

"We crashed into the king of the gods?!" Estel gasped, his voice returning with such suddenness that it cracked. He doubled over and wrapped his hands over his head. "Ah, we're in so much trouble…"

"That is for my lord to decide, not you," the dragon pointed out. He began to back out of the room. "Come. He wishes to speak with you."

"Now?" Sapphire asked, the word coming out as a squeak.

The dragon inclined his head in a brief nod, not halting his withdrawl from the room. He did pause, however, when only his head remained inside.

"Follow me. He's waiting for you."

He stood there and watched the companions. They hesitated, glancing at one another, then Cen got to his feet.

"Well, come on," he said. "It isn't polite to keep a god waiting."

"But what if he—" Sapphire started, her expression bordering on fearful.

"If we get told off, then we deserve it," Cen interrupted, giving both her and Estel a particularly stern look; Sapphire dropped her gaze at once. "You all know we could've been doing better at all this. Rath's been saying so since we started."

Rath did not take the opportunity to make a snide remark over this; in fact, he did not even look up, his face buried in his hands. After a moment, however, he straightened up and stood, adjusting his hat and tugging his collar up as high as it would go. The look in his eyes had changed from one of alarm to one of forced impassiveness.

"Get up," he said, his tone once again his usual snappish one. "Tarrying will in no way benefit us."

He turned and walked to the door, where the dragon still waited. Cen grabbed Estel by the arm, hauled him upright, and pulled him along as he followed Rath. Sapphire rose and scurried after them.

The dragon led the companions through a series of wide, smooth-walled tunnels, lit by large stones glowing with a warm light set in niches in the stone walls. Other caverns opened onto these broad passsageways, and as the group went along, more dragons came out to watch them pass. Though the spectators varied in age and size—some old dragons even larger than the ice dragons, some hatchlings smaller than the companions themselves—they all had the same dark, iridescent scales, golden eyes, and golden horns. Sapphire watched them as she walked, her eyes round, and finally Cen had to drop back and grab hold of her arm as well, hurrying her along after their guide.

At last, they came to their destination. Their guide brought them to a halt before a pair of massive double doors, unadorned and made of an unfamiliar dark metal. The dragon made no move to open these, instead turning to look down at the companions.

"I will wait here for your return; my lord wishes for this to be a private audience."

He turned away and reached out a claw, barely touching the door's surface; this seemed to be a signal more than an effort to push the doors open, because it was not until after he withdrew his claw that they slid open, eerily soundless. He stepped back and gestured for the companions to go onward. Not waiting to lose what little nerve they had left, they went forward at once, Cen leading Estel and Sapphire with Rath walking just a few paces behind them.

The size of the chamber could scarcely be comprehended. The glowing stones along the walls were little more than faint glimmers in the distance, and the far end of the room could not even be seen. Rows of columns, varying in height from six feet to twenty, stood in ranks, each one with another glowing stone on top, filling the hall with faint, crisscrossing shadows. Above, the ceiling hung far out of sight, swathed in deep darkness. A broad, column-lined thoroughfaire ran up the center of the chamber from the doors, and the companions made their way along this, staring around in spite of themselves in amazement and awe.

Estel muttered to himself as Cen dragged him along.

"I'm in so much trouble. Ah, gods, I'm in so much trouble…"

"Yeah, I bet you are," Cen said, giving Estel a look. "In fact, I hope we _all_ are. If it takes a god telling us off to make us get to work like we're supposed to, then fine, bring it on. At least we'll finally get around to getting the job done." He glanced over his shoulder at Rath. "Right?"

Rath gave a terse nod but did not say anything. The group fell silent.

It seemed to take hours to cross the enormous room, though it could not possibly have been more than twenty minutes. As the companions progressed, however, their pace began to slow as the giant form of Bahamut loomed into view.

Seated as he was, he was easily twenty-five feet tall. His half-furled wings formed a massive black canopy around him, the tips reaching far out to the sides and the joints meeting in a peak twice again his height above his head. His blue-black scales shimmered in the light of the glowing stones, a crest of golden spikes glittered like a crown atop his head, and his metallic gold eyes shone with an inner light as he watched the companions approach.

Sapphire's eyes widened, and she and Estel both would have stopped walking had Cen not kept hold of them and made them continue. Cen himself looked as though the edge had worn off his determination, and though he kept walking, he did slow a bit. Rath slowed as well, dropping back a few more paces behind the others.

The group finally came to a halt before the towering god seated on a low dais and surrounded by glowing stones. Their eyes did not leave him as he watched them, Rath a step or two away from the others, Estel with guilt written all across his face, and Sapphire clinging to Cen's arm. After a few minutes of heavy silence, Bahamut crossed his forelegs and settled his head back a little on his long neck, his expression one of such sphinx-like inscrutability that it made all of Rath's enigmatic looks seem like founts of emotional revelation by comparison.

"So," he said.

His voice was powerful and deep, and the companions had no doubt that the entire island would quake if he were to shout. Something about it, however, took the sharpness out of their fear; instead, they felt an odd sense of familiarity, as though they were speaking with an old relative whom they had not seen for a very long time and had nearly forgotten. Cen relaxed somewhat and bowed his head.

"Lord Bahamut. It's…" He floundered a bit. "Uh…we're sorry for crashing into your house."

He cringed as soon as the words left his mouth. Bahamut, however, seemed amused, if anything. A low rumble came from deep within his throat, and he gave a small shake of his head.

"You need not apologize. As it happened, I was expecting you, and I'm glad you arrived in a mostly undamaged state, your vessel notwithstanding."

For a moment, the companions looked rather startled. Then the fact that they were addressing an omniscient being sank in further, and the surprise faded. Cen looked up and cleared his throat.

"Er, yeah. We're pretty glad about that, too."

Silence fell. After a moment, Bahamut shifted, talons scraping against the stone floor, and spoke again.

"Well. It seems we have a few matters to discuss."

Estel went pale and tried to fade back into the darkness. This did the opposite of what he had hoped, however; rather than ignoring him, Bahamut looked at him at once.

"Estel Venture," he said, and Estel jumped about a foot in the air. "How has that compass been working out for you?"

It took a moment for Estel to answer; his mouth had gone so dry that he could scarcely speak.

"…Actually, I'd, uh, I've been havin' some trouble with that."

"Really." Bahamut did not sound at all surprised; he instead spoke with the overly-innocent, knowing tone of an interrogative parent. Hearing this coming from an all-powerful god was, admittedly, rather strange. "That's too bad; it's a very useful accessory. Do you have any thoughts about what might be making it go wrong?"

"Uh…" Estel swallowed, looking a little unwell. "Yeah. Yeah, I got kinda an idea about that."

Bahamut nodded his approval. "Very good. Be certain to ask your friends for help with it if you need it; I'm sure they can provide some valuable insights for you."

"Yeah, I'll…" Estel trailed off, his gaze flicking over the others before dropping to the floor. "I'll remember that."

"I hope you will. You really have grown up exceptionally well, especially given what a difficult life you've had, and it would be a shame to have all that wonderful progress be halted now. You have such great potential still available to you, and a good heart; we made sure of that. You can't afford to let anything stop you now, with the Fiend of Wind still threatening the world."

Estel mumbled something and continued staring at the floor, unable to bring himself to look up. Bahamut did not press the discussion any further, however. He uncrossed his forelegs and stretched his wings; the movement sent a gust of wind down the cavernous hall, making the companions stagger a little.

"Well, you've made a fair start of things. That you managed to fell both Lich and Marilith in so short a time is quite remarkable. However, I would be lying if I said that we weren't somewhat disappointed in you as well."

Estel and Sapphire both cringed, but Cen looked vindicated. Rath did not react at all. Bahamut went on.

"We really did think, with the Fiends causing so much trouble themselves, that you wouldn't go out of your way to cause even more problems on your own. We gave the sages very clear instructions for you about this, and I know they delivered everything exactly as we told it to them."

"We've been trying," Cen said, though his defense sounded feeble; still, it was better than any of the others could have offered, none of them capable of speech at the moment. "We were doing a lot better for a while, until…" He trailed off, shooting looks at Estel and Sapphire. "Well, I've been working on straightening it out again, anyway."

"I've noticed." Bahamut stretched again. His wings, not even extended to their full span, just missed clipping the nearest columns some forty feet away. "You and Rath have both put a great deal of effort into that lately, and I commend you for it. That does not mean you all don't still have much work to do yet, though."

"Oh, yeah, I know." Cen nodded. "We'll keep working on it. Is there…uh, is there anything else we need to do? I mean…" He cleared his throat. "Do you have any other advice or anything for us?"

"Well." Bahamut folded his forelegs again, his expression becoming stern. The companions cringed. "It seems to me that my brethren and I have given you some very good advice. Why don't you worry about doing what you've already been told rather than asking for something new?"

None of the companions could look at him, nor did they try to argue. They knew he was correct. Bahamut watched them, his eyes glimmering and gold in the dim light.

"Now," he went on, "I know you remember what the sages told you. Spend some time thinking about it; it will help you a great deal. Once you've shown you can follow those few commands, then we'll see what we can do about giving you new ones."

Estel coughed and looked away, but Cen and Sapphire both nodded at once.

"Right," Cen said. "Okay. We'll work on that."

Sapphire drew a breath, about to speak, but Rath cut her off, sounding surprisingly urgent, almost pleading.

"Why haven't you been helping us?"

A ringing silence fell after the words left his mouth. The other companions stared at him, then started edging away to avoid being within the impending blast radius. Rath did not notice this; he kept his eyes fixed on Bahamut, breathing hard.

Bahamut, however, did not retaliate or even grow angry. Instead, he looked suddenly and deeply sorrowful, and he bowed his head.

"I am sorry," he said. "I know that is small comfort to you, Rath, but that's all I can say." He paused, then continued. "The matter is…complicated. But I assure you, we have done everything we could. Knowing what we've asked of you, there is no way we could have done less than that."

The truth of this, and the depth of Bahamut's sorrow and regret, struck the companions with a pang. Sapphire's breath caught, and she pressed her hand to her mouth; Cen winced and shut his eyes, and Estel paled. Only Rath looked unmoved. Bahamut sighed, lifted his head, and rose to his feet; the companions backed away as he loomed even higher over them.

"I owe you something of an explanation, I think." He stepped down from his dais and began to walk through the hall; the columns slid aside to make room for him as he passed, and the floor trembled a little with each step. "This is a terrible task you must face, and there are days we regret placing it upon you. But you must understand that we had no choice; this is something we could not do."

Though they could easily have heard him no matter how far away he went, the companions still moved to follow him, Cen and Sapphire hurrying along at the front, Estel and Rath just behind. Bahamut went on, slowing his pace just enough that they could keep up with him.

"It took myself and all my brethren to subdue Chaos and his servants in the beginning. As he lay bound, he taunted us; he told us we would never be able to wholly destroy him and his forces. We knew this to be the truth, but we still saw a path to making the world truly safe from him. So, I placed a judgment on him: we might not be able to defeat his forces, but our children would." He paused and looked back at the Light Warriors. "Rath. What is the name your people give to the Warriors of Light?"

"…They call us the Hands of the Gods," Rath said after an uncomfortable moment, speaking through a constricted throat.

Bahamut nodded and continued forward.

"And that is exactly what you are. You're acting for us, doing something we have been bound not to do."

"But…" Sapphire's voice came out as a sort of squeak. Bahamut turned his gaze to her, and she forced herself to continue, her voice high-pitched and tremulous. "But I don't understand. If…if you and the others, with all your power… I mean, we're only humans, Lord Bahamut. How can we finish something you and the other gods couldn't? We…we're not strong enough."

"You are," Bahamut said with an air of finality. "Or rather, you will be."

"Why do you have to listen to what Chaos said anyway?" Cen asked, looking confused. "He sounds like a slimeball, and if it was the other way around, you just know he'd be sticking his nose in everything. Why don't you just—"

"Words and vows have power, Cen," Bahamut said, halting and looking down at him. "Just because they were spoken by a creature of destruction doesn't mean they aren't as binding as anything I or the other gods could say. We are bound not to interfere directly in these events. Or at least, we can exert no more influence here than we do in any other affair that goes on in this world. That's why—" He cast a glance over the group. "—it's easier for us to protect you when the Fiends' actions affect many people rather than targeting one of you specifically."

"But isn't what you're doing now interfering?"

The corners of Bahamut's mouth twisted up in an odd, draconian smile.

"I'm not interfering. I'm taking advantage of an opportunity. After all, did I ever specifically summon you here? No, you came by chance, and in fact came by the hands of the Fiends themselves. If anything, this was due to their interference, not mine. I haven't given you specific instructions on how to go about your task, merely reinforced preexisting good advice, just as I do for any of my children who call upon me for help. And…" His voice took on a tone of utmost nonchalance. "…if I were to propose a way for you to strengthen yourselves in preparation for the conflicts with the remaining Fiends, I would not be helping you directly; I would merely be suggesting an entirely optional way that you could earn a very useful reward."

Cen stared up at Bahamut, then a grin spread across his face.

"I like the way you think, Lord Bahamut."

"I rather suspected you would." Bahamut turned and began to proceed back to his dais. "That said, I would issue my proposal to you now, Warriors. This is a task I give to dragons who wish to enter my service, both those who come to me from my siblings and those who are Fallen and wish to redeem themselves, and as such is nothing exclusive to you four in particular. And you are, of course, completely free to decline my offer."

Grin still in place, Cen followed him, Sapphire right behind. Estel and Rath followed at a distance, both looking discomfited.

"Well," Cen said, "let's hear your suggestion, my lord."

Bahamut cast a faintly amused look back at him. "So formal." He stopped and turned back around to face the companions. "My challenge is this. To the east of these islands stands a castle called the Citadel of Trials. Dragons who wish to enter my service must pass through and complete the ordeals within as a test of courage. As proof of this, they must bring back the token they find at the end."

"What's the token?" Cen asked.

"It might be anything, from a grand and impressive trophy to the most humble of trinkets. Whatever it becomes for you, bring it back to me, and I will reward you with power as I reward those dragons who pass through successfully."

Cen nodded, considering this, then he looked around at the others.

"Well? What do you think?"

None of the others said anything. After a long moment, however, Sapphire looked at Cen and nodded.

"Okay then." Cen looked back at Bahamut. "I think we'll give it a try."

Bahamut's eyes flashed with a brilliant gold light, and he laughed, roaring in delight and approval. Estel jumped in alarm, and Rath covered his ears, cringing, but Cen and Sapphire both, to their surprise, burst out laughing too, Bahamut's mirth proving contagious. The chamber shook with the god's outburst.

"Very well!" Bahamut thundered, beaming down at the companions with a look of paternal pride. "Your vessel will be fully mended by tomorrow morning, so you can leave as soon as you like. And don't forget to bring the key with you."

Wiping tears from his eyes, Cen managed to get control of himself.

"What key?"

"The key I asked Odin to leave for you in Elfheim. I know you received it. You won't be able to participate in the trials without that key."

Cen blinked. "Oh. Oh, that. Right."

"Yes. Make certain you have that with you." Bahamut turned away and started back toward his dais at a quicker pace. "The Fiends know you survived, and they're furious over it. I'll speak with Leviathan and Fenrir, and we'll arrange an honor guard for you, to keep the Fiends' power at bay while you travel to the Citadel and back. I always send servants to accompany those undertaking the trials, so this is, again, nothing the Fiends can complain about."

He reached the dais and sat, stretching out his wings luxuriously; pillars skidded out of his way. He half-furled his wings and waited for the companions to reach him.

"Now…" He paused, tilting his head to the side. "Ah, and it seems I have another visitor about to arrive." He looked back down at the Light Warriors. "It is growing late, and you still need to recover your strength after your run-in with Kraken and Tiamat's storm. Go sleep for now. Everything will be ready for your departure in the morning. Oh, and Rath…" He waited for Rath to look at him, and for a moment the look of sorrow was visible on his face again. He spoke, but did so in the unfamiliar language that Rath himself sometimes used. Rath shut his eyes and turned away.

Though he looked puzzled, Cen said nothing. He just bowed to Bahamut and motioned for the others to do the same.

"We'll do our best, Lord Bahamut."

"I know you will. Be warned, though; this is not an easy challenge. You'll gain something great if you complete it, and great things are not cheaply bought."

"We'll keep that in mind."

"Very good." Bahamut inclined his head to the companions. "You are dismissed. I will speak with you again upon your return from the Citadel."

* * *

A preoccupied silence settled over the companions as they followed their guide back to their torchlit chamber. The dragon bade them good evening before it left, leaving the companions to their thoughts and their plans for the next day.

Their packs had been placed in the chamber during their absence, mended of any ills they had suffered in the storm. Cen went to his at once, digging through it until he found the heavy pewter chain with a claw-shaped stone dangling from it: the Mystic Key, gift from King Avarion of Elfheim. He sat down on his mattress, examining the key in the flickering light.

"So, _that's_ what this is for. I'd almost forgot about it."

Neither Estel nor Rath responded: Estel had lain down at once and seemed to be trying to sleep, while Rath sat with his head bowed, deep in thought. Sapphire, on the other hand, moved over to sit by Cen and look at the key as well.

"I'd nearly forgotten as well. He must have known, all that time ago, that we'd somehow end up here. So…he got everything ready for us."

"Yeah…" Cen turned the key over in his hands a few times, smiling a little. "You know, he's not really what I expected. You never hear stuff like that about him in chapel school, do you?"

Sapphire shook her head. She hesitated, then spoke.

"So…we're leaving first thing tomorrow, right? For the Citadel?"

"Right." Cen moved to put the key back in his pack. "So we ought to get to sleep now, especially if this is going to be as tough as Bahamut says."

Sapphire nodded and half-rose, starting to go back to her mattress. She paused, however, frowning and looking down at Estel where he lay curled up with his back to her and Cen. A troubled expression came over her, and she tapped Cen on the shoulder. When he turned to look at her, she gestured to Estel. Cen studied him for a moment, then he nodded to Sapphire, reached out, and shook Estel's shoulder.

"Estel? Hey, Estel?"

Estel did not react. Cen repeated his actions a couple of times, then he sighed and gave Sapphire a shrug and a resigned look. Sapphire dropped her gaze, then got to her feet, went to her own mattress, and lay down.

Just a minute or so later, the lights went out for the night.

* * *

_"…I suppose you think that was terribly clever."_

"Why, whatever do you mean, Kraken?"

_"You conniving, meddling, worthless little upstart—"_

"Now, now, we're both mature beings here. Is there really a need to descend to name-calling? Besides, you've taken enough liberties with the Warriors as it is; I don't see a problem with my making an innocent proposal when they just so happen to arrive on my doorstep. Or are you just frustrated with yourself because you and your sister are the ones who put them there?"

_"I don't even know why I bother speaking with you."_

"I've never been entirely sure of that myself. But you know, I am curious. Why would you drop them on me like you did? Oh, dear…you don't think perhaps Tiamat has defected and sent them here on purpose, do you? Have you and she had a spat?"

_"How _dare_ you insinuate such things about her! You have no right, you pathetic excuse for an overgrown lizard! Weakened or not, we are still your elders—"_

"Not in this incarnation. How long have you been here like this, two hundred years? You're a mere babe in arms by that account."

_"INSOLENT LITTLE—!"_

"All right, that's enough. You really must learn not to take yourself so very seriously, especially when you're only here in spirit and can't back up your threats. Now why don't you just calm down and get back to whatever gloating you came here intending to do, hm?"

_"…They won't pass through the Citadel successfully. You must be even more foolish than I thought if you believe otherwise."_

"You're giving yourself far too much credit."

_"You give me too little. You have set them up to fail, Bahamut. You clearly have no idea of the extent of the damage we have caused."_

"Oh, I know exactly what you've done, don't worry. And I still happen to think they're stronger than you. Now, if you don't mind, I have some rather pressing business to attend to. I need to speak with Carbuncle about renewing the barriers around Cardia; you got in far too easily, so they must be wearing thin.

_"Bah! I am glad to go; you're a waste of my time."_

"Farewell to you as well, Kraken. It's always _lovely_ talking with you."


	28. Shadows from the Past

**Chapter 28: Shadows from the Past**

The dragons had done a superb job of repairing the _Phaëton_; the companions could scarcely tell it had been damaged in the first place. The companions left Cardia early in the morning, and it took them little more than half a day to reach the Citadel of Trials, their entourage of dragons surrounding them at all times, skirting through the clouds just out of sight.

The Citadel, its needle-like spires rising high into the sky, stood on the tip of a long, thin peninsula covered in thick forests and swampland. The nearest space where the airship could land would have set a two-week hike before the group, and so Cen, not wanting to bother with this, left the ship hovering above the swampy clearing before the Citadel itself, lowering the gangway to settle into the muck and water with a squelch. The companions exited the ship and looked up at the structure before them.

Viewed up close, it was both intimidating and dismal. Its massive grey walls and spires towered up to dizzying heights, the doorway was large enough to admit even Bahamut himself, and the smooth columns bordering the door were so large that had the companions all linked hands, they would not have been able to reach even halfway around. On the other hand, moss and vines grew over the stained stonework, broken masonry lay scattered over the swampy ground, and there was a definite odor of decay.

Cen led the companions up the massive front steps. On closer inspection, the doors proved to be dotted with many slightly curved, conical notches, some only an inch or so in depth and some so deep that Cen could have inserted his entire forearm into them. After some puzzlement, their purpose became clear: they were keyholes.

Cen drew the Mystic Key from around his neck and, after examining the holes for a few moments, set it into the correct notch.

There was no fanfare or any kind of dramatic presentation. The towering doors just opened inward on silent hinges, revealing a cavernous hall, lit from the back and sides by many-paned windows. More massive columns outlined a corridor leading in from the door to a circular area in the center of the hall.

The companions entered, walking over flagstones scored by the talons of the many hundreds of dragons who had passed that way before. Above them, arches crisscrossed the high ceiling. None of the companions had spoken since they had landed before the Citadel, and they continued in silence still, feeling awe and no small amount of fear. So enthralled were they by the place that they almost missed seeing the other person present until they were nearly upon him.

A man stood in the middle of the ring of columns in the center of the hall, looking around with mild interest. He wore roughly-made leather clothing and a thick, shaggy fur cloak, the hood pushed back to reveal his wild, tangled grey hair and beard. For all that he was clearly rather old, however, he had the build of a warrior in his prime. His eyes, surrounded by years of smile lines, lit up as he spotted the approaching Warriors, and he gave a bark of laughter that made them jump.

"Aha, so there you are!"

He crossed to them and seized Cen's hand in a firm grip with both his own. He smelled of woodsmoke, pine, and cold air. Cen shook back, looking quite confused.

"Um, hello… And who're you?"

The old man grinned, revealing pointed canine teeth. "Fenrir, my boy! And don't look so surprised; we don't _all_ wear our suits around all the time like B does."

Fenrir let go of Cen's hand and proceeded to administer similar greetings on Rath and Sapphire, the companions too astonished by his identity to speak. Then he turned to Estel. Another bark of a laugh escaped him and, instead of shaking Estel's hand, he caught the young man up in a bear hug of such force that it lifted his feet off the floor.

"And _there's_ my boy!" Fenrir deposited Estel back on the ground and held him by the shoulders. "I'm counting on you to get that broken-headed she-devil out of my sky. You won't let me down, will you, lad?"

Estel shook his head, rather harder than usual out of nerves and alarm. "No, sir."

"Good man!" Fenrir laughed again and ruffled Estel's hair, sending his bandana askew and making him stagger.

"Now." He released Estel and rubbed his hands together, crinkled eyes gleaming. "Let's get down to business; I imagine you want to finish this as quickly as you can. B asked me to come here and explain the situation to you, and I've never been one to disobey my big brother. So, here's what you need to do." He pointed behind him, off to the companions' left. "Go that way, and you'll find a little room. Inside is a throne, and you all need to touch that to start the trials. Then you'll go to a different room, where things really start."

"Where's the other room?" Cen asked.

Fenrir shrugged. "Don't ask me; this is B's pet project, not mine. You don't have to worry about that, though; the throne will know where to take you. Once you've gone through the trials, there will be another throne at the end, and you touch that to get out. Don't forget to grab whatever the token is first, though; it will be in a box by the throne."

The companions nodded in understanding. Fenrir looked around at them, and his enthusiastic expression grew somewhat somber.

"Before I let you go, I just want to clear something up. How much did B downplay what you're going to be doing here?"

"I…" Cen hesitated, looking around at the others. "I don't think he did too much. He told us it was going to be really difficult."

"Yes, that would be understatement," Fenrir said. "This will be one of the worst experiences of your lives. Just make sure you're prepared going in, and not just with those weapons of yours." He nodded to Sapphire's hammer and Cen and Estel's blades. "This place gets under your skin, and it takes something else entirely to fight that."

The companions, Estel and Sapphire in particular, squirmed at Fenrir's words, shivering as though fingers of ice had just gone dancing up their spines.

"Just keep your heads clear," Fenrir went on. "That'll help a lot with all of this."

"Okay," Cen said, recovering first. "We'll be sure to be as ready as we can."

Fenrir's grin returned, and he cuffed Cen on the shoulder.

"Good man. Well, I'll leave you to it, then. We'll be cheering for you!"

With that, he stepped around the companions and started up the long path leading to the doors. Somewhere along the way, happening with such imperceptible smoothness that the companions did not notice until it was complete, he began to change: his human form dissolved into that of a fierce, grey-pelted wolf, seven feet tall at the shoulder. At the doorway, he paused and looked back at the companions, then he sprinted off into the misty swamp outside.

Estel stared after the departed god, his mouth hanging open and a look of such undiluted astonishment on his face that in other circumstances it might have been funny. Sapphire bore a similar expression, but Rath showed no reaction to what had just occurred. Cen blinked a few times, then shook his head as though trying to clear a daze.

"Well, okay, you heard him. Let's get going."

He led the group in the direction Fenrir had pointed them, and as they had been told, they found another door there, not as large as the entry doors but still large enough to look intimidating. The metal it was made of was surprisingly light-weight, and Cen pushed it open without trouble. Inside stood a plain, rough-hewn throne of great size, alone on a low dais in the center of the otherwise empty chamber. The companions entered slowly, looking around with trepidation.

Cen approached the throne and examined it.

"Well, here it is. Not sure how it's supposed to send us anywhere, but…"

The companions looked at the throne, but none moved to touch it, taking this chance to gather their thoughts and ready themselves. Finally, after what seemed an age, Cen stepped up and held his hand out over the seat of the throne. He looked over his shoulder at the other companions.

"Well?"

Still, the others hung back. After another few moments, however, Sapphire drew a breath, squared her shoulders, and stepped up beside Cen, holding out her hand as he was. A few seconds later, Estel and Rath followed her.

"Okay," Cen said, sounding rather subdued. "On three. One…two…"

They lowered their hands.

There was a flash, and the room around them vanished.

* * *

The group reappeared in a chamber almost identical to the one they had just left, except there was no throne. They looked around, disoriented and somewhat dizzy—Estel had gone slightly green and had to hunch over against the wall—trying to get their bearings. The only point of reference was a large door set in one wall, its metal surface etched with writing.

Rath went to examine this in silence. Once recovered, the others joined him.

Cen stared at the lettering blankly. "That isn't Common."

"It is," Rath said. "Just a very old mode of it. Roughly speaking, it says: 'Welcome, challengers of the Citadel, to the Hall of Shadows. You will face trials of the mind, heart, and body here, and should you prevail, the final trial will open to you. But choose your path carefully, for a wrong step will return you here and place the trials before you again rather than guide you onward to your goal.'"

Cen blinked. "_That's_ rough?"

Rath ignored this, his eyes continuing to skim the writing on the grey metal. Finally, he moved away, and Cen stepped forward, pulled open the door, and started into the empty, stone-lit chamber beyond.

He had not gone more than four steps before he came to an abrupt halt, as though he had walked into an invisible barrier. His body went rigid. Estel approached him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Cen?"

Cen did not reply. His eyes had half-closed and now flickered rapidly beneath their lids. Estel backed away, looking apprehensive.

Sapphire and Rath moved forward into the room, and Sapphire reached out and touched Cen's arm, attempting to shake him and get his attention. She may as well have been trying to rouse a statue.

"What…?"

The room went dark. Estel shouted in alarm, and Sapphire gasped, but before anyone could speak, the darkness faded. But the room it revealed was not the one the companions had just stood in; instead, they found themselves in Idren's study, back at Cen's home in Crescent Lake. A much younger Idren sat behind his desk, going through some papers. At the table sat a round-faced boy of about eight, his sandy-blond hair sticking out in tangles. He had a paper before him, covered in what looked like illegible scribbles rather than real writing, and he gripped a charcoal pen tight in his right hand. His face, spattered with pale freckles, was screwed up in concentration as he tried to copy something down from the scribbled-on parchment to a blank one. He struggled through one line, though judging by the hopeless look in his eyes as he looked at his work, he had no idea what he was writing. He paused, sighing, then shot a furtive glance at Idren. The boy repeated this glance a couple of times, then swapped the pen to his left hand. He resumed writing, careful to prevent smudging, and though the letters remained as incomprehensible as ever, his writing did become smoother and more easily managed. He relaxed, just a little.

Unfortunately, Idren saw what the boy had done.

"Cen," he snapped, and the watching companions felt a pang of fear even as the boy did. "I told you not to write like that. It's not the correct way."

The young Cen flinched as though Idren had struck him. "I'm sorry. It's just, it's easier for me to do it this way, Daddy. Father," he corrected himself at once, looking horrified at his lapse. "I mean, Father, sir."

Idren ignored this. He got to his feet, opened a drawer in his desk, and removed a ruler from it. Cen's eyes went round.

"No, no, no, no, no! Look, I'll do it right! Look!"

He changed the pen back to his right hand and resumed writing, but Idren looked unimpressed. He came around to the other side of the desk.

"I have tried repeatedly to teach you these lessons, and the moment I seem to be making some progress, you fall back again. Perhaps I shouldn't have given you those few days off for your birthday; no doubt all the lessons from your schoolwork have drained out of that sieve of a mind of yours as well."

"I'm—"

"Come here, Cen."

With the air of a condemned man going to his execution, Cen set down his pen, stood, and walked over to Idren. He held out his hands, fingertips pressed against the top of Idren's desk, then screwed his eyes shut, bracing himself.

The harsh snap of the ruler coming down, over and over, on Cen's knuckles rang through the room, so sharp that the watching companions almost thought they could feel the stinging pain across their own hands. At last, Idren stopped, set down the ruler, and returned to his chair, not even looking at his son. Sniffling and fighting back tears of pain, young Cen went back to his seat at the table, rubbing the backs of his hands gingerly, and the companions could feel, distant and faint, the emotions coming from him: pain, sadness, self-loathing, and something almost like betrayal.

The images began to flicker and disappear into darkness again. At first, it seemed as though another scene would take its place; new scenery started to come into view, but then Cen, the real Cen, shuddered and gave a grunt of effort, and the room snapped back into complete blackness. A few seconds passed, and then the light returned, revealing the small, empty chamber the companions had first seen.

With a sharp inhalation, Cen broke free of whatever force had seized him. His eyes flew open and he dropped to his knees, trembling with exertion and breathing hard, as though he had been running for hours. Estel stared around the chamber in confusion, but Sapphire knelt down next to Cen, her eyes wide with alarm and worry.

"Cen, are you all right?"

Cen managed to nod. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so." He sat back heavily, putting his hand to his head. "It just… As soon as I walked in, it was like something grabbed me. I couldn't breathe or move…and it just went into my head, and…" He trailed off, then looked at Sapphire, puzzled. "Did you see all that, too?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, we did. Cen, that was awful…"

"Not really. That happened all the time." Cen smiled a little. "And he didn't even win that one. I never did quit using my left hand." He sobered, rubbing his head as though it pained him. "That…what just happened, though… That was…what _was_ that?"

"The 'trial of mind and heart' mentioned on the door, most likely," Rath said. His eyes had taken on a familiar forced blankness. "I imagine we must each endure something similar."

Estel and Sapphire both looked startled by this, Estel going rather pale. Cen, on the other hand, just nodded and got to his feet, already looking much steadier.

"Well, it's not much fun, but at least we know some of what we're doing now. Let's figure out how to get where we need to go next."

It struck the others as Cen said this that the room had no other exits besides the way they had come. Rath and Sapphire both provided the answer to this puzzle, though: they pointed out a short, fat column in one corner, unremarkable to look at, but according to the two mages, it bore the same kind of teleporting magic as the throne at the beginning. Cen did not even hestitate: he reached out and touched the pillar, and with a flash of yellow light, he vanished. The others followed him.

They reappeared in another stone room, this one larger than the previous. Instead of being bare, however, many gold coffins leaned against the walls of the chamber. Cen took a few steps forward, looking around with unease. The other companions started after him, but this time they were the ones who stopped short; as though they had been struck by lightning, they jerked to a halt and fell to the floor. Sapphire gave a cry of pain as she fell, and Cen spun around.

"What—?"

He went back and knelt down beside them, but Estel, with tremendous effort, managed to shake his head.

"No," he gasped, staring past Cen with wide eyes. "Behind you…"

In the nasty silence that followed his words, there came the sound of coffin lids hitting the stone floor with hollow clangs.

Cen froze, then slowly got to his feet and turned around. Three of the coffins now lay open, and their occupants—corpses wrapped in yards upon yards of burial linens, their half-visible faces dried and fleshless—started making their slow, silent way across the room toward him, trailing dust. Cen drew his sword and started to edge away from his companions, his expression becoming forcibly blank.

As the first creature came near, Cen took a step back and, with a single neat swing, cut its head from its neck. But the creature did not fall; though its head only remained attached by a few strips of yellowed linen, it continued its advance, the shuffling of its feet the only sound it made. Cen paled and started to fall back at once, shaking his head in disbelief and horror, not taking his eyes from his pursuers.

"That's supposed to work. That's supposed to kill them."

More of the coffins flipped open, and Cen did not notice until he nearly backed into another mummy and it seized his shoulder. He jerked away with a shout, swinging his sword in a wide arc. It sliced off grasping hands and arms and slashed one mummy completely in half. Still, this did nothing to deter the creatures; even the fallen hands continued to move, grabbing at Cen's ankles. Cen began to stumble as he backed away, eyes darting as he tried to watch all his attackers at once, still striking at the creatures even though the blows did no good.

"This is supposed to work," he kept repeating, the words becoming a panicked mantra. "It's supposed to kill them. This is supposed to work!"

He slashed and slashed and slashed. Shreds of linen fluttered through the air, severed limbs and heads thudded to the ground, but the crowd of undead just continued to grow as coffin after coffin disgorged its contents. Cen found himself trapped within a ring of silent horrors, and his attacks became wild and unaimed as he babbled the same two phrases over and over.

Hitting with the flat of the blade, he knocked a hole in the wall of undead, and seeing clear ground beyond, he ran. He fled to the nearest empty corner and shrank back into it, watching with thinly-veiled terror as the mummies turned to follow him. His hand, clutching blindly at the rough stone, came upon something: a plain wooden staff.

Unthinking, he seized this new weapon. As the mummies drew near again, reaching for him, he struck out with it, battering an outstretched hand.

With a flash of blue-green, the arm dissolved to dust up to the elbow.

Cen stared, breathing hard, and then his mind latched onto the fact that here was something that did indeed work. He dropped his sword, gripped the staff tight with both hands, and waded into the crowd, swinging his new weapon like a battle axe.

Within minutes, only piles of dust shared the room with the companions.

The staff fell from Cen's shaking hands with a clatter. He dropped down beside it, clutching his head in his hands as he fought to steady his breathing. At the same moment, the painful restraint holding the other companions disappeared, and they were able to get to their feet. Sapphire rushed to Cen at once and knelt down next to him.

"Cen, are you all right?" She sounded on the verge of tears.

Cen shook his head, his face chalk-white.

"No. No, they…" He stopped to take a deep breath, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "I mean, I'm not hurt, if that's what you mean."

Estel approached and put Cen's sword down beside him, having retrieved it from the corner where Cen had left it. He said nothing, looking very pale.

"Thanks," Cen said. He pushed himself to his knees, then returned the sword to its scabbard. He picked up the staff as well. "We should hang on to this. I don't know how it did that, but it's definitely something I'm going to want to keep around."

"It's infused with healing magic," Sapphire said quietly. "That's why it hurt them; healing magic damages the undead, so some people use it like that if they can't learn Dia. We can use the staff for that, or for normal healing, too."

Cen nodded as he got to his feet. Ever chivalrous, he extended a hand to help Sapphire up, even though he still trembled from exertion and fear.

Another short, fat pillar had appeared in a corner of the room. The companions looked at it, but none spoke or moved to touch it.

Finally, Sapphire drew a deep breath and stepped forward. "I'll go next."

Neither Estel nor Rath contested this, though Estel did cringe guiltily and turn away. Cen just nodded, looking quite solemn and somehow older.

"Okay," he said. "Just be careful. That…thing will hit you as soon as you step in, and you have to really fight to get it out of your head. It'll hurt, but you have to do it. Otherwise it'll just keep digging to find other things, and it'll be even harder to get out."

Sapphire nodded. "All right. I understand." Before she could lose her nerve, she crossed the room to stand before the pillar. She reached out, touched it, and vanished. The others followed her and did the same.

Just as before, as soon as Sapphire took a few steps into the new empty room she froze and her eyes started to flicker. The chamber went black, but unlike Cen's vision, no one single scene formed as the light returned; instead, a stream of them came, flowing around the group like a river, triggers in one cueing another to begin, then another and another. The three men watched in astonishment.

They stood in Lich's chamber, watching the fight, feeling for themselves Sapphire's horror and despair as Lich broke Rath's body against a column of stone…

Then it was Estel falling to the ground, Marilith ripping her sword from his stomach, and the wrench of loss remained as an illusory Sapphire rushed to aid him…

But she stopped short, in a doorway in Castle Elfheim. Suddenly, she was a young girl, scarcely twelve, listening with the same fear and sorrow as a guard reported to his superior in a low voice that nevertheless carried:

"…both dead, sir. They stood no chance; the dark elves were too many."

The young Sapphire turned and ran, tears blurring her vision…

And then she was outside, full-grown once more, running from her companions as Estel and Rath's harsh words rang in her ears, guilt throbbing within her.

"I went through _hell_ because of this! We all could've been killed!"

"She is a spoiled brat who cannot admit she has made a mistake…"

The brightness of the elven forest gave way to the darkness of the ocean seen from the _Charybdis_'s deck at night, but Rath's voice remained.

"As far as I am concerned, you are now little more than excess baggage."

And Sapphire fled again, the stabbing sharpness of her heart breaking so intense that the watching men physically recoiled and winced…

Then, the pain still piercing but now mingled with fear and confusion, she was on the airship, and Estel was there. But the images flickered, jerking from clarity to darkness, and the real Sapphire shook as she fought with the invader in her mind. The room went black, then the light returned, revealing the grey stone of the Citadel.

With a gasp and a sob, Sapphire fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands.

Cen knelt down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders, supporting her in spite of his discomfort at her tears. Rath just stood with his head bowed, his eyes gleaming and intense, but Estel backed away, not looking at Sapphire, his face written with shame and guilt.

Sapphire remained kneeling on the floor for a long time.

"Are you going to be all right?" Cen asked at length, watching her with concern.

Sapphire nodded and sniffled. "I think so…" She stared down at the floor. "It just…it hurt to see all that again…" Her lip trembled and she put her hand over her mouth. "No wonder Fenrir said this would be one of the worst experiences of our lives. This place is making us go back and…and relive all these horrible things…"

Cen remained silent for a moment.

"Well," he said at last, "just look at it this way: with how hard this is, the reward Bahamut will give us for finishing is bound to be pretty incredible. Right?"

Sapphire nodded as she tried to compose herself. She got to her feet with Cen's help, then looked around. This time, two pillars stood at the far side of the room. Sapphire walked over and studied them, taking her time so she would not make a mistake in choosing a path. Cen, meanwhile, approached Estel, wisely leaving Rath alone.

"Estel, are you doing okay?"

Estel shook his head. "I don't think I can do this. It was bad enough seein'…" He trailed off, looking over at Sapphire as she examined the two pillars. He winced and looked away, shrinking back as though trying to sink into the wall behind him.

Cen did not get a chance to reply, as just then Sapphire announced she had found the correct pillar: apparently the one leading back to where they had come had a more 'familiar' feel than the other, and once she noticed that, she could determine the way onward easily. She touched the pillar to the left and vanished, and the others followed.

The new chamber was much larger than those previous, and it was occupied: two hulking humanoid figures, each at least fifteen feet tall and made of damp clay, stood in the middle, facing the companions. Sapphire's eyes widened as she beheld her opponents, but she still stepped forward. Behind her, the three men fell prey to the debilitating paralysis and dropped to the ground, and as they did, the golems in the center of the room began to move, making for the group.

Sapphire did not even try to make a stand; she just ran. The mud creatures turned to follow her, raising their heavy fists. Their size made them slow, however, and Sapphire easily evaded them, darting around the edges of the chamber and watching them, her eyes round and her hands scrambling to loose the mythril hammer from her belt. But then, her hands stilled. She waited for the creatures to get closer, then, just as they drew near enough to reach her, she sprinted out of the way, racing to the other side of the room where her companions had fallen. She dropped down beside Cen and fumbled his shield free from its place across his back.

The mud creatures reoriented themselves and started back across the chamber. Sapphire rose, her arms looped through the straps behind the shield and holding it up before her. As the creatures drew closer, she ran to the side, and before they could turn, she charged at them, shield up as a makeshift battering ram.

She struck the nearest creature just as it lifted a foot to take a step, and the impact knocked it off balance. It toppled into the one behind it, and they both fell with a room-shaking thud. Sapphire freed herself from the shield and clambered up on the first creature as fast as she could without slipping, removing her hammer from her belt as she went. Once high enough, she swung the hammer into the creature's head as hard as she could, over and over and over, metal hitting clay with wet thunks. Finally, something shattered: the head broke open, and Sapphire seized the scroll hidden within it and tore it up. The creature went limp.

As Sapphire dropped the shreds of parchment, the other creature regained its feet. It swung its fist and caught her full in the chest, throwing her from her perch to slam into the ground. The strike knocked the wind out of her, and the mud creature advanced as she struggled to breathe. As she started to rise, the creature brought its foot down on her arm, shattering both it and the handle of the hammer. Sapphire screamed in pain, but blue-green light flowed to the broken limb at once, mending it. The creature lifted its foot to crush her again, but she tumbled out of the way just in time, scrambling to her feet and seizing the head of her broken hammer. She flung the chunk of metal at the golem; it stuck in the creature's shoulder, not deterring it in the least as it turned to pursue her. The golem brought its fist down and she jumped aside, but then her eyes lit up.

Before the creature could lift its hand for another blow, Sapphire seized hold of its arm. It lifted her up and tried to slap her off, but her hands slipped in the wet clay and she slid to the other side, and the creature only hit itself. The golem raised its hand higher, looking for her, and Sapphire slipped down until she sat astride its shoulder. Holding herself in place tightly with her knees, she wrenched the piece of metal free and started slamming it down on top of the creature's head with both hands, with all the strength she could muster. Finally the hardened clay beneath fractured and broke, and Sapphire seized the scroll inside and shredded it.

The creature toppled backward. Just in time, Sapphire pulled herself forward so it would not crush her. She slid down from the creature's chest, staggering a little and looking as though she had just come out of a daze.

The paralysis holding Cen, Estel, and Rath vanished, and they clambered to their feet, wincing. Sapphire, disheveled and covered in slick reddish clay, stumbled over to them, beaming in bemused exultation.

"I did it! Did you see, did you see those two huge things, but I beat them, I never thought I'd be able to do something like that, but I did, and it was because of what you told me, Cen, what you said about watching them, and about how it's good to go for the head and this time that was perfect because they were golems and the magic that controls them is kept in their heads and…" She paused to catch her breath, glancing over her shoulder. "And I think I dented your shield, Cen, I'm sorry, but that's the only way I—"

"Okay, okay!" Cen said, speaking over her. He put his hand over her mouth to stem the flow of words. "Yes, you did great, Saph. That was one of the best fights I've ever seen in my life. Now calm down a little, okay?"

Sapphire nodded, and when Cen removed his hand from her mouth, she remained quiet, concentrating instead on calming her breathing. Estel, trying hard not to look at her, went to fetch Cen's shield.

Another short pillar appeared in the corner of the room. The companions all turned to look at it, then Cen and Sapphire glanced at their two companions. Neither Estel nor Rath made any moves forward, and in fact Rath took a very pointed step back. Estel shot him a dirty look.

"_Fine_," he muttered. "So it's my turn." He walked over and touched the pillar.

Another plain grey room greeted the companions as they reappeared. Perhaps hoping nothing would happen if he remained still, Estel did not step forward, but despite this, he still seized up, his eyes flickering as the room went black.

The scene that came forth was on the deck of an old galleon in the middle of the ocean, the sun blazing down from a clear sky. A group of ill-kept pirates stood gathered around, laughing and jeering at a slender, brown-haired woman being obscenely manhandled by one of the men. Though she made no attempts to escape, she looked disgusted with the treatment. The others on deck thought otherwise, egging their shipmate on.

With one exception. A short distance away was a skinny little boy—Estel at age eight—and he looked furious. One of the pirates had hold of the back of his over-large shirt, but Estel was putting up a tremendous fight to get away. His face crimson with anger, he screamed at the pirate grabbing the woman.

"Stop it! It's not funny, you're hurting her! Leave her alone! _Leave her alone_!"

Estel twisted around and sank his teeth into the fingers of the pirate holding him, and the man let go with a curse. Freed, Estel ran toward the woman, but another pirate caught him by the arm and jerked him back.

"Ye oughta keep yer eyes open here, lad," the pirate said with an unpleasant laugh. "Might learn somethin' about th' right way t' deal with these wenches."

Estel just screamed all the louder, redoubling his attempts to escape, his anger and helplessness stabbing at the watching companions.

At this, the woman seemed to have had enough too. She pulled away, trying to pry the man's hands off her, but he was far too strong. The watching pirates' hoots and catcalls grew louder, almost drowning out young Estel's shrill little voice.

The door leading to the cabins slammed open, and the ruckus on deck died down as the ship's captain strode out. Though he was thinner and bore no eyepatch, the watching companions recognized him at once: Captain Bikke.

"Now what's all this?" He looked around, squinting in the bright light as he took in the scene. "'Ere now, lay off 'em, lads! Where's yer manners, eh?"

The pirates made a great show of looking shamefaced, and they released both Estel and the woman. Estel ran to her at once and flung his arms around her neck as she knelt down to scoop him into an embrace. The woman kept her eyes on Bikke, however, her gaze intense, wary, and angry. Bikke looked quite wounded.

"Now, Esme, what be the cause fer that?"

"You," Esme snapped. "You and your men. I've told you enough times to leave my son alone, but you never listen. It's bad enough—"

"You're a bastard!" Estel yelled, spinning around to glower up at Bikke. "You should be cut up and have sharks eat you! I hate you!"

Bikke staggered back, clutching his chest as though Estel's words had actually damaged him. His men roared with laughter.

"Ah, ye cut me to th' quick, lad," Bikke said with great drama. "That do be the worst insult t' ever fall on me ears. I feel proper ashamed o' meself for ye holdin' such opinion o' me. What'd I ever do to ye to earn such wicked words?"

Estel started to answer, but then it struck him that Bikke was making fun of him, and he shut his mouth and fumed. He turned away and clung to Esme again.

Bikke smirked and crossed the deck to the pair.

"Now, now, none o' that." He reached down and plucked Estel from his mother's arms. He gave a nasty grin. "Ye know 's me got first rights to everythin' on this ship."

He started across the deck to a hatch leading below, dragging Estel along by the back of his shirt. Esme stormed after them.

"Let go of him! Bikke, stop it!"

She tried to pull Estel free, but Bikke, laughing, just shoved her away. He opened up the hatch, then lifted Estel up and dangled him over the dark pit below. Esme lunged for him again, but a pair of pirates seized her and held her back.

"Ye're all fired against us now," Bikke said, speaking over both Estel and Esme's ranting. "But sooner 'r later ye'll come around t' how we do things. Maybe th' quiet down in th' bilge'll help ye think a bit."

With that, he dropped Estel into the hole. The last view he had before the hatch slammed shut was of Bikke turning to Esme and resuming his crewman's molestation of her with all the restraint of a rampaging troll. Darkness fell, but the sounds of the scene remained: from above Esme could be heard screaming at Bikke, first in anger, then in pain; nearer at hand came the squeaks and scuffling claws of rats. Young Estel's shrieks of rage turned into wails of fear, pleadings to be released, promises that he would behave.

Then even this flickered and died, and light returned to show the Citadel again.

Estel staggered back and fell against the wall behind him, breathing hard but shallow, looking as though he was about to be sick to his stomach. Cen, resigned and solemn, rested a supportive hand on his shoulder. Rath showed no reaction, lost in his own thoughts, but Sapphire, tears spilling down her cheeks, stared at Estel with a sudden, terrible realization.

"Oh, Estel… Estel, I'm so sorry…"

Estel did not appear to hear her. He just kept staring at the floor in silence, his face pale and clammy, until he trusted himself to open his mouth without vomiting.

"He was right," he said, his voice almost a croak. "I learned real good from them, didn't I? He knew I'd—" He broke off and slid down the wall, curling up on the floor.

Sapphire shook her head, hard, but Cen spoke up before she could.

"Come on, Estel, cut it out," he said, somehow sounding both reproving and sympathetic at the same time. "The day you end up like Bikke is the day I get made president of the University. And I wouldn't lie about something like that, would I?"

Estel just groaned and buried his face against his knees.

The group remained in that room for a long time. Cen stayed by Estel's side, waiting for him to recover. Sapphire stood and watched them, looking nearly as upset as Estel did as she tried to keep her weeping quiet. Rath ignored them all, and if anything looked almost relieved by the great delay. Finally, though, Cen took Estel by the arm and lifted him up to stand. Estel tried to sag back to the floor, but Cen would not release him.

"You can keep brooding later," he said, an edge of sternness in his voice now. "Right now, we need to keep going and finish this." He looked around and spotted the two pillars that had appeared against the wall, then he looked at Sapphire, who stood wiping her eyes. "Saph, can you figure out which way we need to go?"

The next room was long, low, and dark. The form of Estel's opponents could not be seen, but from the far end of the room came the rustling of leathery wings. Estel shuffled forward, leaving the others locked in their paralysis behind him, his saber held loose in one hand. His uneasiness at his surroundings was not immediately evident until the sounds at the far end of the room began to draw nearer; then, Estel dropped to the ground with a cry, too shaken by the dredged-up memories and his own despair to even try to fight whatever was approaching.

His head struck hard metal, and he swore, one hand flying up to protect the sore spot and the other going to the offending object: a heavy gauntlet. As soon as he touched it, lightning crackled off the metal, throwing crisp, brief shadows up on the walls and revealing the approaching swarm of red-skinned gargoyles. Estel seized the gauntlet with both hands, and it sprayed electricity in all directions, surrounding him like a nimbus and gouging pockmarks in the stone. The gargoyles swooped and screeched in anger, unable to penetrate this barrier.

Estel stared at the gauntlet, breathing hard and wincing as the threads of lightning danced along his skin. He turned it in his hands, his motions jerky and nervous, and suddenly the power focused and sent a blast upward, digging a crater in the ceiling and sending dust and chunks of stone raining down. Realization dawning, Estel turned and pointed the gauntlet at the gargoyles, and bolts of electricity flew from it, snapping among the twisted creatures and sending them plummeting to the floor, blackened and smoking. Though more and more gargoyles kept coming, it took only minutes for the magic in the gauntlet to fell them all.

The paralysis holding the other companions disappeared.

Cen rose, walked over to Estel, and extended a hand to help him up. Estel just stared at him for a moment before accepting the offer.

"Well, at least your fight was short, right?" Cen said, trying to sound positive.

Estel muttered something inaudible in reply. He retained his grip on the gauntlet.

Sapphire hurried over to them, looking anxious. "Estel, I—"

She broke off as Estel cringed and turned away from her, the little remaining color draining from his face. Cen looked between the pair of them, a slightly helpless look on his face, then he shook his head.

"Okay, enough. This place is really starting to mess with us, and it'll be best if we just finish up and hurry out as fast as we can." He turned and looked back at Rath. "Come on, Rath. Just your turn left, and then we can get out of here."

Rath did not answer, his eyes eerily blank, and an unsettling silence fell. It dawned on the others that they did not know what to expect for this trial; Rath had been so thorough in keeping to himself that trying to guess what his memories might show was pointless. And still, Rath was in no hurry to enlighten them.

Cen allowed Rath a few minutes to stall, then he spoke again.

"Rath, it's your turn. Let's get going; we can't just stand here all day."

"I am aware of that," Rath snapped, his blank expression switching to his usual glare. "Am I not permitted to clear my mind beforehand?"

Still, it was quite some time before he moved, walking to the end of the long chamber to where the pillar leading onward stood. The others started after him, but he had already vanished by the time they reached the pillar themselves.

They arrived in another small, empty room. Rath had already halted, frozen, his half-shut eyes invisible beneath the brim of his hat. The companions scarcely had time to register this before total darkness fell; beside them, they could feel Rath start to tremble.

Light returned and images started to form, but they only remained for a few seconds; Rath gave a sudden, violent twitch, and blackness returned. Almost at once, however, a new scene started to form, and this flickering went on and on, revealing glimpses that were tantalizing in their briefness:

A dirty, moonlit alleyway, a handful of ragged figures curled up on the cobbles.

A dark forest, rain pouring down and lightning crackling above as a thin, sodden figure forced its way through the underbrush at a frantic pace.

A rocky beach, the ocean roaring just out of sight in the thick grey fog, with two boys running toward the dark shape of a gathering crowd in the distance.

Then, blackness fell again. After some time for the companions' eyes to adjust, however, they could see a faint ruddy glow coming from the dying coals in a fireplace, giving some distinction to a stretch of stone floor and the bottom few inches of nearby furniture. Extremely pale, diffused moonlight came in through a window, but only enough to provide dim outlines to the objects in the room: a trunk, a chair, a bed, and what looked like the crib. On the bed sat a figure of a child barely in its teens, head bowed, shoulders shaking. In the distance could be heard faint cries of pain.

Though the companions waited, and though Rath continued to shake with the effort of trying to clear his mind, this scene did not vanish.

One of the voices in the distance rose high in a scream, and the figure on the bed jerked out of its reverie, turning to stare at the wall. In the crib, a small child began to cry. The seated figure's head turned as the distant scream faded, and its shoulders slumped.

"Oh, baby girl," the figure said, its quiet tone weary in a way that made the companions think the person had not been sleeping well for a long time. They could also tell, despite the higher voice and thicker accent, that this was Rath speaking.

The young Rath got to his feet and crossed the room to the crib. He bent and scooped up the child, and she clung to him, wailing. Rath held her close.

"Hush, hush, it's all right. I'm right here."

The little girl cried something through her tears, speaking in a babyish form of the Onracean language Rath sometimes used. One word sounded familiar enough that it stuck out to the watching companions, however: 'mama'.

In the near pitch-black of the room, the shadow Rath's reaction could not be seen. His posture, however, went tense, and he held the girl tighter. He started to reply to her in the same language, but then he broke off, his breathing growing shaky. He started to pace the room, rocking the little girl in his arms. After a while he began to murmur a quiet lullaby to try to calm the girl, his voice just loud enough to cover the cries continuing faint in the distance. A tension came over the scene, pressing on the watching companions: the feeling of Rath fighting to keep control of his emotions, trying to keep calm for the sake of the child in his arms.

Finally, the little girl relaxed as sleep reclaimed her. Rath continued to walk the floor with her, more for his benefit than hers, but at last he took her back to her crib and laid her down. His head remained bowed, his hands on the crib's edge, as he watched the girl, his face as invisible as ever in the darkness. He said something in Onracean, but then he switched to Common:

"Don't worry," he said, though his quietly distressed tone conveyed something quite different. "I'll…I'm going to make things better. I promise."

The scene began to flicker, but before it vanished, the illusory Rath sank to his knees beside the crib as his emotions overcame him. Sorrow, agony, and a piercing, horrible guilt fell in a sudden crush on the watching companions with almost physical force, the depth and utter anguish of it all completely belied by the quiet and baffling scene; and they gasped, feeling as though the breath had been struck out of them even as they marveled that such intense feeling could come from Rath.

The room went completely black, leaving the companions reeling from the flood of raw pain and despair. The darkness remained for a time, the real Rath shaking worse than ever, then something new began to appear: another room, this one illuminated by flickering lamplight that revealed two occupied beds.

"_No_!"

The light snapped out and the companions jumped at Rath's scream, and just as quickly the room of the Citadel reappeared around them. Rath staggered, then he collapsed, first to his hands and knees and then flat on the floor. Breathing hard and shaking, he struggled to push himself back up, but his hand slipped out from under him and he fell again. His breathing grew ragged, and a half-choked sob escaped him.

The others were too stunned to react at first. Estel, already nearly overwhelmed by his own trials, looked as though he too was on the verge of collapse, while Cen took a step away from Rath, his composure cracking to reveal alarm and unease. Sapphire, looking ready to cry again, recovered first, moving hesitantly toward Rath.

"Rath? Rath, are you…?"

Rath froze at the sound of her voice, holding his breath as he fought to regain control of himself. Sapphire took another step toward him, and he jerked away.

"Don't. Get away from me."

Sapphire hesitated, then she took another step forward.

"Rath…"

"I said _get away_!"

Rath's eyes flared and threads of lightning sprayed from his body. Sapphire recoiled with a gasp. The electricity subsided, but Rath's eyes continued to blaze. He shoved himself up to his knees, half-collapsed again, but caught himself against the wall and used it to pull himself up. Thin cracks began tearing open in the stones of the walls and floor, radiating out from him like a web. He looked up, saw the two pillars that had appeared, and then pushed himself away from the wall to the nearest one. He fell against it and disappeared in a flash of yellow.

With Rath out of sight, Cen regained his composure. "Saph. Saph!" He shook Sapphire's shoulder. "Did he go the right way? Was that the right pillar?"

Sapphire nodded, numb.

"Then come on." Cen grabbed hold of the others, then all three went to the pillar and vanished after Rath.

The paralysis struck the instant they appeared in the next chamber, a long, wide hall. Rath stood some distance on, surrounded by a snarling pack of green-furred tigers. He darted within the circle of foes, almost frantic, and then the floor around him seemed to ripple like waves on the ocean: ridges and crests of ice, razor sharp, reared up around him, lines of icicles shot out in random sprays, and the onslaught slammed into the green creatures, slicing, stabbing, and crushing them. With one last burst, a thick sheet of white ice covered them, freezing them to the floor. Rath rushed on.

The other companions recovered and dashed after him, Cen in the lead, his face now set and determined.

"Keep up. We have to catch him before he gets to that final trial."

Many pillars dotted the hall, but Rath made unerringly for the correct one at the farthest end. He touched it and vanished, and seconds later the others did the same. The new room contained a massive spiral staircase leading upward. Rath made for this, but Cen put on a burst of speed and caught up with him, grabbing him by the arm.

"Rath, stop—"

Rath rounded on him, eyes wide, frenzied, and glistening wet. Lightning sprang from him and screamed toward Cen, blasting him away. His chainmail caught and amplified the spell, and Cen crashed to the floor, convulsing and screaming in agony as the electricity surged through him. Sapphire gasped and ran to him at once, Estel close behind. Rath just turned away and ran on, up the stairs and out of sight.

Sapphire cast her healing spell over Cen as quickly as she could while he twitched and struggled to breathe. Once mended, he rose shakily to his feet, wrestled his way out of his half-melted chainmail and started toward the stairs.

"Oh, just let him go ahead!" Sapphire called after him, her voice thick with upset and uncharacteristic anger. "If he gets in trouble, it's his own fault! He shouldn't—"

"He's Rath," Cen said, not looking back. "When he's having a problem, he blows things up. That was my own fault for getting in his way. Now come on."

Estel followed at once, and Sapphire, frustrated, went after them.

The stairs led to a long, narrow corridor, and the companions raced along it. They did not find Rath until they reached the vaulted room at the corridor's end: he stood in the center of this final chamber, surrounded by four dragons, their eyes white and blank, their scales green-black and moldering, their flesh falling off their bones. Zombies.

Cen's hand went to his sword and he started forward, but just then the temperature soared upward, and Sapphire, with a gasp of fear, grabbed him and dragged him back. She murmured a rapid spell, her hand flew up, and NulBlaze fell over all the companions in a glimmer of red.

Not a moment too soon. Flames swirled around Rath, the stones at his feet took on a dull glow, and then an orb of fire closed around him and detonated. The explosion shook the room, the heat and flame and light barrelling out as a blazing translucent globe. It caught up the dragons, igniting them like torches and incinerating them in seconds. Even with Sapphire's protective spell, the companions could feel the heat and the pressure slam into them. Then the fireball vanished, and the vacuum it left in its wake sucked the air and dust and ash of the chamber into it, and the companions felt the breath torn from their lungs.

Rath scarcely noticed the devastation he had caused. He just half-ran, half-staggered across the blackened, cracked stone floor to the throne at the far end and threw himself onto it. With a yellow flash, he disappeared.

The three remaining companions did not pursue him this time. They walked into the chamber, moving slow, Cen staring around in astonishment, Estel's face blank from emotional exhaustion, Sapphire unaware of the tears running down her cheeks.

A chest stood beside the throne. Cen made his way over to it and opened the lid. Inside lay the token of courage Bahamut had instructed them to bring back, but Cen just stared at it for a moment, half-disbelieving.

It was a rat's tail, affixed to a piece of string. After another few seconds of staring, Cen reached into the chest, picked up the tail, and tucked it into a pocket before either Estel or Sapphire could approach and ask about it.

"Okay," he said, turning around. "I've got the token. Let's get out of here."

One by one, the three companions touched the throne and were teleported back to the first room with the throne. Fatigued physically, emotionally, and mentally, they scarcely had the energy to leave the Citadel, trudging across the vast entrance hall and out the doors, which closed silently behind them.

Rath had already locked himself in his cabin by the time they reached the airship.


	29. Yields of Courage

**Chapter 29: Yields of Courage**

None of the companions slept well that night.

They had left the Citadel behind the previous evening, Cen flying the _Phaëton_ out to the bare patch of land they had seen before. But if any of them hoped having the ominous building out of sight would help ease their distress, they were mistaken; the memories of what they had experienced in the Citadel could not be dampened by a mere change of scenery. And so, the restless, troubled night crawled by.

Sapphire rose and left her cabin late the next morning. She had put her sleepless hours to use cleaning the baked-dry clay off her robes, so when she emerged into the common room, she looked tired but clean. Behind the weariness, however, it could be faintly seen that something in her bearing and expression had changed.

Cen and Estel were already in the common room when Sapphire arrived. Cen appeared more or less back to normal; though he looked tired and disheveled, his hair standing out in every direction in a tangled mess, his expression was one of quiet composure and something akin to resignation. He sat in a comfortable sort of sprawl in a sagging, oversized armchair, staring out the open door as though he was deep in thought. Estel, on the other hand, looked awful. He sat huddled back in a corner of one of the sofas, his hair and clothing rumpled, his face ashen, his eyes downcast and blank.

Cen looked around as he heard Sapphire enter the room.

"'Morning, Saph. How are you doing?"

"Oh…" Sapphire sighed, her gaze drifting to Estel before going back to Cen. "I'm all right, I suppose. What about you?"

"This might surprise you, but I've been better."

Sapphire gave a little half-smile, but she sobered at once. "Have you heard anything from Rath?"

"No." A bit of concern flicked across Cen's face, and he glanced at the door to Rath's cabin. "Not for a while, anyway. I heard him moving around or something a little during the night, but that's about it."

"I see… And what about…?"

Cen followed Sapphire's gaze to the unresponsive Estel. He opened his mouth to speak, then he stopped and started over.

"Oh, you know. We just couldn't sleep, so we decided to come sit out here." He gave Sapphire a rather pointed look, showing that, in spite of his worry, he was leaving much unsaid for Estel's sake. "At least then we had some company."

Sapphire just nodded. She sat down beside Estel, perched on the edge of the sofa and half-turned so she was facing him. Again, he gave no reaction to her, instead just continuing to look morose and dull-eyed. Sapphire glanced at Cen, and he gave her a knowing, approving sort of look.

"I'll give you two a minute." He got to his feet and went outside.

Sapphire watching him go, and once he was out of sight, she turned back to Estel.

"I need to apologize to you."

Estel did not reply. Sapphire continued.

"I never meant to hurt you like that. I told you what I did because I still wasn't certain how I really felt. I couldn't say that before, because you would have still been just as nervous and miserable over everything, all because I was still confused, and I didn't want that. And I couldn't say 'no', because…it just felt wrong, and I didn't want to say that and maybe hurt you like Rath hurt me." She sighed and looked down at her hands. "But what I did hurt you even worse. I can't even start to say how sorry I am for making you think such horrible things about yourself. After seeing all those things in the Citadel, and realizing that…oh, Estel, if I'd had any idea…"

She looked back at Estel. He had finally reacted to her presence, but had done so by turning his head away, still unable to bring himself to look at her. Sapphire, frowning in concern, put her hand on his shoulder, but he curled away further, sliding his arm out from under her touch. Sapphire withdrew her hand with obvious but subdued dismay and went on speaking again.

"Estel, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for how much I've hurt you, and for not noticing how you felt for so long. If I had, I…" She trailed off, hesitating, but she then recovered and went on. "And…I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you. You didn't deserve any of it."

Quiet reigned for a moment, then Sapphire, without any hint of her usual hesitance, slid back right beside Estel and embraced him. Estel went tense with discomfort, but Sapphire did not release him.

"You could never be anything like him. And I never believed that you were."

Silence fell again. Sapphire continued to hold Estel, resting her head against his shoulder. Estel remained tense and uncomfortable at first, but then some of the rigidity started to go out of him, and he drew a deep breath. He tentatively put his hand to one of Sapphire's, as though to verify its presence.

"Saph…"

Sapphire straightened up and looked at him at once. "Yes?"

Estel half-turned his head, looking pained and exhausted and overwhelmed, and took in the sight of Sapphire sitting beside him, watching him with concern. She met his eyes, and after a moment, he gave a shuddering breath, turned in her arms, and hugged her tight. Sapphire tightened her own embrace in response.

"Thank you," he said, and he sounded almost on the verge of tears. "I just…ah, gods…" He broke off and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"I understand," Sapphire said quietly. She relaxed a little but kept her arms securely around Estel. "It's all right; you don't have to say anything."

Estel nodded, taking deep breaths to try to keep from breaking down and weeping. Sapphire patted his back, and the pair sat in silence and held each other.

After a few long minutes, Cen appeared in the common room doorway. Leaning inside, he caught Sapphire's eye and raised a questioning eyebrow, and she gave him a tiny nod over Estel's shoulder. Cen sighed, then he entered the room and returned to his chair. Sapphire turned her attention back to Estel.

"How are you feeling?"

There was a pause, then Estel straightened up a little and sniffed. His eyes looked very red.

"I don't know," he said, sounding as though he had a bad cold. "A little better, I guess. It's just…after yesterday…"

Sapphire nodded, looking sympathetic and concerned in equal measure. "I know. That was awful. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that."

Estel nodded and sat back in the couch, resting against the soft cushions. Sapphire settled back as well to remain beside him. A few moments of silence passed, then Estel spoke again.

"…I hate that you had to see that."

"Yeah, none of us were really happy with what went on in there," Cen said. "But it's done with now. We'll be okay."

"That's right," Sapphire said reassuringly. "Don't even think about any of it, Estel. It was horrible, but it's over now."

Estel nodded, his eyes taking on a far-away look. Sapphire started combing out his hair with her fingers, and he gave a little sigh and relaxed somewhat. Still, the small comfort Sapphire's touch provided did not stop Estel cringing a moment later.

"But I can't _stop_ thinkin' about it."

Sapphire sighed, and her hand stilled.

"Maybe you do need to talk about it, then."

"…I don't know. I just…" Estel trailed off, dropping his gaze and sighing. "I don't know." There was a pause, then he spoke again, hesitant. "Could you…keep doin' that? That with your fingers, I mean?"

Sapphire smiled, a bit sadly. "Of course." She resumed her combing.

The group sat in silence, just taking some comfort in one another's company. Estel closed his eyes, looking about to doze off as Sapphire tidied his hair. Sapphire watched him, her own expression a bit far-away now, but in a thoughtful way rather than a pained one. Cen stared off at the far wall, his expression more focused than those of his companions. He tapped his fingers against one knee as though counting something.

After a little while, Sapphire spoke up, looking from Estel to Cen.

"When are we going to return to Cardia?"

"Tomorrow," Cen said, so entrenched in his thoughts that he did not look at her as he answered. "And we'll take our time, so we'll get there in the evening. I don't think Bahamut would blame us for taking a little time to get our heads on straight after this."

"Hm." Sapphire considered this, then nodded. "Yes, that sounds all right. I was just about to say that I didn't think we should go back right away."

In the brief pause before anyone else could speak, there came the sound of movement and an odd, high-pitched plinking from inside Rath's cabin. Though not loud, it carried, and Cen and Sapphire looked over at once. Estel even opened his eyes.

The sounds died away. After a few tense seconds of watching, Cen and Sapphire settled back again, and Estel's eyelids drooped. Sapphire, however, now looked troubled.

"I wish he would come out."

"He won't, though," Cen pointed out.

"I know, but I still wish he would. I'm worried about him."

Cen half-smiled. "Even after he zapped me? I thought you were on _my_ side."

Sapphire frowned at him. "We're all a team, Cen; we don't have 'sides'."

"I'm just kidding," Cen said. "Actually, I kind of agree with you. But there's not a lot we can do about it; he'll come out when he wants to." He paused, then added, "Or when we get back to Cardia, I guess."

"I suppose so…" Sapphire glanced away as she resumed combing Estel's hair, then she shook her head. "He should come out now. He needs help." She looked first at Estel, then at Cen. "Why won't he let us try to help?"

Cen shrugged. "Right now, I guess we can help by just leaving him alone like he wants. And when he does come out, we'll act like nothing happened."

Sapphire looked a bit dubious. "Are you sure that would actually help him?"

"Better than trying to drag anything out of him, that's for sure."

Sapphire considered this, and though she did not look entirely pleased by the prospect, she did nod.

"Have you tried to check on him at all?"

"Sort of." Cen gestured vaguely in the direction of Rath's cabin. "I peeked through the keyhole a couple of times. He always just looked like he was asleep, though; you know how he gets sometimes."

"Right…"

The conversation trailed off. Sapphire turned her focus back to Estel, but she kept her head tilted just a bit toward Rath's cabin, listening for any other signs of movement. Before too long, however, Estel broke the silence, sounding a bit drowsy now.

"Saph?"

"Yes?"

"…Did you really mean it, that you don't think I'm…like him? Really?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, I do mean it. You couldn't be more different."

Estel let out a long, slow breath, taking his time to absorb this.

"Thank you," he said, his posture relaxing a little. His eyes slipped closed. "I…needed to hear that again."

"…I can say it whenever you need me to, Estel," Sapphire said quietly.

Only a few minutes later, Estel slipped into a fitful sleep, his exhaustion finally overtaking his anxiety.

Outside, the wind began to howl.

* * *

The next day saw the three companions in somewhat better spirits. They had all managed to get at least some sleep that night, and Estel had roused a bit more from his morose stupor, which did a great deal to buoy up the others. That they were traveling again aided matters as well. Indeed, the only remaining dampener on the group's mood was Rath's continued absence.

They arrived at Cardia shortly before sunset, their guard of dragons seeing them safely through the brewings of what looked to be a harrowing storm. Estel, sitting half-curled against the railing, said he was certain he could hear shrieks of rage out on the wind as they traveled, but though neither Cen nor Sapphire disputed this, they did ask him not to talk about it.

Rath still had not emerged from his cabin by the time they reached the islands, and so Cen took it upon himself to fetch him. Leaving Estel and Sapphire to make themselves presentable, Cen walked back to Rath's door and knocked.

"Rath? Are you awake?"

No answer, though there was a rustle of movement. Cen went on.

"Look, sorry to bother you, but we're back at Cardia. You need to come out so we can all go talk to Bahamut."

Again, no response. Cen lifted his fist to knock again, but the door swung open before he could. Rath looked no different than usual, save that he had his hat and collar drawn so close around his face that even his eyes could scarcely be seen. He gave a minute, involuntary twitch backward when Cen lowered his hand. Cen kept both his expression and his tone neutral, bordering on pleasant.

"Thanks. Estel and Sapphire should be ready now, so let's go."

He turned away and crossed the common room to the door leading outside. After a moment's silence, Rath followed him.

Most of the companions' guard—Leviathan's silver and blue sea serpents and Fenrir's storm-grey wyverns—remained to keep watch over the airship, while a pair of Bahamut's servants led the Light Warriors into the caverns where Bahamut dwelt. Estel, quite impressively, hardly even cringed at this descent into the earth, though he did move to walk closer to Sapphire; she reached out and took his hand as he did. Cen walked in his now-usual place at the head of the group, while Rath trudged along at the rear.

Their guides took them directly to Bahamut's vast hall, as before leaving them to proceed inside on their own. They made their way across the hall in fits and starts; Rath persisted in lagging behind, making the others wait for him. At last, however, they reached the end of the column-lined thoroughfare, where Bahamut sat waiting for them.

He hardly seemed to have moved since the last time they had seen him. He still sat on the stone dais, his pitch-black wings tented over him, his glowing gold eyes watching them as they approached. Now, however, he had a distinct expression on his face: a smile that was satisfied, proud, and sad all at once.

"You did it."

"Of course," Cen said with a bit of a smile. "We didn't want to spoil that great opportunity for you, Lord Bahamut."

Bahamut inclined his head in gratitude, eyes glimmering.

"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. And I don't mind telling you that the Fiends are absolutely furious over your success."

He straightened up a little, lifting his head up on his long neck, and surveyed the companions standing before him. Cen, Estel, and Sapphire all stood together, Estel and Sapphire still hand in hand, but Rath kept away from them, a few paces back and to the side. Bahamut's expression became rather sphinx-like again, and he focused his bright, piercing gaze on the young mage.

"I know that nothing I could say to you would come close to matching what you have been saying to yourself. So, rather than lecture, I will simply ask whether there is anything you wish to say to your companions."

He did not sound commanding, angry, or disappointed, his tone almost off-hand and as neutral as his expression. A long silence followed his words, but finally, Rath drew a breath and spoke, in a deadened, hoarse sort of voice.

"I…apologize for my behavior in the Citadel. My lack of control jeopardized not only all our lives, but also our errand. There is no excuse for this. I will not allow such a lapse to occur again."

Silence fell, but almost at once, Cen nodded.

"Okay. Thanks, Rath. We accept your apology."

Estel and Sapphire both murmured quiet agreement, and Bahamut nodded his approval. Rath did not acknowledge any of them.

There came the sound of quickly-approaching steps from the far end of the hall, and moments later, a small, long-tailed creature came into view. Blue-green, furry, with a gleaming red gem in its forehead, it scampered across the floor and climbed up a pillar beside Bahamut's dais. Bahamut turned his head to look at the little animal.

"Good of you to come. Do you have the islands secured?"

The creature made a chirruping noise in reply, intent on cleaning the jewel on its head with its tiny paws. Bahamut smiled, then looked back at the companions.

"This is Carbuncle," he said. "He's something of a defense specialist among myself and my siblings, and as his barriers are somewhat more powerful when he's physically present, I asked him to join us today. We don't want to be interrupted by any unwanted visitors."

Carbuncle gave a self-satisfied whistle, then curled up on top of the column and appeared to go to sleep. The jewel on his head shone like a beacon.

"Well then." Bahamut stood and stretched his wings. "Let's begin, shall we?"

He paused, surveying the companions, then, in the same imperceptibly smooth manner Fenrir had displayed in the Citadel, he changed. The massive draconic form dwindled down to that of a human, albeit a tall and impressively built one, with long, blue-black hair drawn back in a ponytail, and a neatly-trimmed beard. He wore a sharp-cut black suit, the coat so long it trailed on the floor behind him, with a gleaming golden waistcoat to accent it. He had a striking, handsome face, made even more appealing by his warm smile, and the companions were again struck by a feeling of familiarity. He stepped off the dais and approached the companions.

"I think things will go more easily if I'm in this form, don't you?" He held out his hand to Cen. "May I have the token, please?"

Cen shot an apologetic look at his companions, then he took the rat's tail out of his pocket and handed it to Bahamut. Estel looked mortally offended as he saw the token, and had he not been in such august company, he likely would have burst out swearing in sheer outrage. Sapphire patted his arm in a reassuring sort of way.

Bahamut examined the rat's tail, then he glanced up, a rather sly smile on his lips.

"You brought back the real token. I'm impressed; you'd be surprised how many Fallen are too embarrassed by what I leave for them to show it to me. They'll bring in something more 'impressive' instead."

"Are the tokens always things like that?" Cen asked.

"Usually," Bahamut said, tucking the tail away in some hidden pocket in his coat. "I'll just set it as whatever unassuming little thing first comes to mind. Of course, the supplicants generally expect something more grand, but that's all the more reason to have something insignificant, I think. Life itself, after all, is rarely what we expect it to be."

"…Oh."

"You didn't think you'd look even a little ridiculous bringing that in to me?" Bahamut's tone was light, but there was a veiled probing quality to it.

"Well…" Cen considered this. "Yeah, I guess so. But you'd said to bring back the token at the end, and that tail was the only thing there, so I just grabbed it. It seemed stupid for me to double-guess whether this was the right thing or not, since I figured that you knew what was what a lot better than I did."

Bahamut nodded. "Nicely said, Cen." His smile grew warm again. "You have grown so much during this quest. You have a natural talent for leadership, and it has been wonderful to watch you develop that, along with realizing and strengthening your intellect. You keep calm and aid your friends in troubling and chaotic situations, and in battle, you are, of course, an excellent swordsman. And, as you have developed all this, you have also shed a great deal of anger and resentment. You have proved this many times in recent months, in many ways and circumstances, but most notably both in the Citadel and here before me today, as you showed understanding and genuine forgiveness to one who attacked you with enough force to take your life."

Rath seemed to shrink about a foot where he stood. Bahamut quite tactfully let him be, instead staying focused on Cen. He placed his hands on Cen's shoulders and smiled with such paternal pride and affection that Cen was quite taken aback.

"That," Bahamut said, "is knightly behavior, Cen."

Cen almost stopped breathing. His eyes went round as Bahamut released his shoulders and took a step back.

"May I see your sword?"

"Of course."

Cen drew the sword, mythril blade gleaming in the light of the strange glowing stones that lit the room, and presented it to Bahamut. With a critical eye, Bahamut examined the weapon, testing its balance and checking the blade for notches. After a moment of this, he lifted the blade up before his face and blew lightly down the length of it; the metal began to shine like pale sunlight.

"There," he said with an approving nod. "That should be just about right." He lowered the blade and looked at Cen. "Kneel."

Cen did so at once.

"Cen Venture," Bahamut said, the formality not quite eclipsing the pride in his eyes. "In honor and acknowledgement of your deeds, which are myriad, and your growth in body and spirit, and as fitting reward for both conquering the Citadel and slaying Marilith, the Fiend of Fire, I hereby dub you…" He touched the tip of the gleaming sword to Cen's shoulder. "…Sir Venture, Knight of Cardia…" He lifted the sword and touched it to Cen's other shoulder. "…and paladin in my service." He withdrew the blade. "Arise, Sir Venture."

For a moment, Cen seemed too stunned and awed to move. Then, almost having to force himself, he rose to his feet, his expression one of barely restrained elation behind a thin veil of noble solemnity. Positively beaming, Bahamut handed the sword back to him. His hand shaking a bit from the rush of emotion, Cen took it and returned it to its scabbard.

"I improved it somewhat," Bahamut said. "It has a rather keen dislike of undead now. I felt it would be appropriate."

"It is," Cen said, sounding a little breathless. "Thank you, my lord."

"This is a great responsibility I'm giving you, Cen. If I didn't think you were capable of handling it, however, I would not have given it to you."

"I understand."

"I'm certain you do. If you have any doubts or questions, about anything at all, you may call on me at any time."

"How?"

A wry little smirk crossed Bahamut's face. "Well, praying is the usual method."

"…Oh. Right."

"Do keep in mind that I won't be able to answer as straightforwardly as I am doing here, however; the Fiends will be watching for that. I'll answer in more subtle ways, so be observant and keep your mind open."

"Right. I will."

"Good man." Bahamut extended his hand. "I look forward to working with you more closely, Cen."

The pair clasped hands briefly, and there was a quiet whispering sound, perhaps nothing more than the rustle of Bahamut's coat. The companions hardly noticed it, but Carbuncle roused a bit, lifted his head, and looked down at the group below before settling back down and dozing off again.

The other Light Warriors had remained silent as Cen and Bahamut had spoken, but now Estel and Sapphire burst into a round of applause, Sapphire beaming and Estel looking proud by association. Cen gave a rather self-conscious grin in return, and Bahamut laughed as he clapped Cen on the shoulder and walked on to the others.

Estel straightened up a little as Bahamut stopped in front of him. Bahamut examined his face thoughtfully.

"Well, you seem to be in better spirits today, Estel. What you went through in the Citadel was difficult, but your mind is more at ease now than it was before."

"Yeah…" Estel cast a grateful glance at Sapphire. "Yeah, that was…I guess I owe you and Saph for that one."

"You owe as much to yourself for being strong enough to resist absorbing the environment you were in for so many years. Weaker men would have succumbed and ended up as the very thing you so feared you were becoming. That is also due, in part, to your having a much more admirable role model to whom you were infinitely closer."

"Mom," Estel said at once, without hesitation or embarrassment.

Bahamut nodded. "That's right. Your mother's determination, strength, and selflessness were a great support and example for you in the midst of such depravity. She is a singular woman, by all accounts."

Estel glowed with pride. Smiling, Bahamut went on.

"Now, you still have a long way to go. While your thieving has lessened, you need to fully break the habit before something very bad comes of it. Oh, and my siblings and I would appreciate it if you stopped cursing at us. We _can_ hear all that, you know."

Estel cleared his throat and glanced away. Bahamut continued.

"Regardless of all that, however, you have shown great growth and even greater potential, and as I said before, I would hate to see that go to waste." He stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment. "Estel, do you know what a ninja is?"

Estel shook his head. Bahamut explained:

"Ninja are a rather unique type of warrior from a country which, sadly, no longer exists. They specialized in stealth and cunning rather than brute force, and as such were frequently employed as spies, assassins, elite bodyguards, that sort of thing." He gave Estel a sly smile. "That sounds like it would be rather appropriate for you, doesn't it?"

Estel nodded, a little smile creeping over his face. "Yeah, definitely."

Bahamut stretched out a hand and grabbed something out of the air beside him, the objects materializing as he closed his hand around them: a pair of swords in unadorned black scabbards. Their craftsmanship was unfamiliar, the blades somewhat short and very slightly curved. The hilts were wrapped with crisscrossing strips of cloth, and the oval cross-guards were small and etched with writing in a strange alphabet.

"These," Bahamut said, "are called katana. They are ninja blades, and one of the many different weapons in a ninja's arsenal." He handed the swords to Estel. "You're meant to use both together; dual-wielding is something of a signature ninja skill, along with a few other tricks."

Estel accepted the swords, examining them with more interest than he had shown in anything for a while. Then he paused and looked up, a little puzzled.

"I just get 'em? There's not a ceremony or anything?"

Bahamut shrugged, looking deceptively innocent. "Well, in that culture, when a young ninja completed his training, he engaged in a combat match with his master to prove he was worthy. In this case, you would fight against me. Now," he continued, as Estel's eyes went round, "while you're certainly free to follow that tradition…"

Estel shook his head emphatically.

Bahamut, to his credit, only looked a little amused. "I didn't think so." He watched as Estel resumed studying his new weapons. "There are a few things you'll need to learn to be able to master these skills, but I don't doubt you'll pick them up quickly. Just be sure to practice."

Estel nodded, tying the sword belts around his waist. "Okay."

"Sapphire…" Bahamat glanced at the young healer. "…you make sure he does as he's told, all right?"

Sapphire smiled and nodded. "I will."

"Good." Bahamut turned back to Estel and extended his hand. "Do your best learning this, Estel. The Fiend of Wind is still waiting for you, and you need to be as prepared as possible, and even more than possible, to face her."

Estel looked a bit daunted, and he swallowed hard before nodding and shaking Bahamut's hand. As with Cen, there was the faint whispering sound as their hands touched, and Carbuncle sat up again and gave an annoyed chittering. As Cen and Sapphire congratulated Estel, Bahamut looked up at Carbuncle and raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a problem?"

Carbuncle whistled and lay back down, but he did not doze off again, instead continuing to watch the proceedings with a bit of a glare. Bahamut gave him a look of unadulterated innocence, then turned away and approached Sapphire.

"You've had an interesting time of things on this quest, haven't you?"

Looking suddenly quite shy, Sapphire nodded, not quite meeting Bahamut's gaze.

"I…wasn't really prepared for all of this. But I'm learning."

Bahamut gave a warm smile. "I know you are. And it has been difficult for you, as you're not used to such things, but that really isn't so bad. You're fortunate that, when you were young, the Fiends did not see fit to meddle in your life. I suppose they didn't think you were much of a threat, and I'm glad to see you've proved them wrong."

Sapphire blinked in confusion.

"I'm…a threat?"

"Of course you are," Bahamut said. "Though you're not as skilled in combat as your companions—I must tell you that your battle in the Citadel was very impressive, however—your strength lies more in your heart than in your arm. Estel told you much the same once. Do you remember?"

Sapphire thought for a moment, then gave a quiet "oh" of recollection. "That's right. On the _Charybdis_, after…" She trailed off.

Bahamut inclined his head. "And he was perfectly correct. Someone with a weaker heart would have broken under Lich's assault, but you did not, even though you were terrified. It is this, as much as your healing skills and your compassion, that makes you invaluable to your friends, more than any prowess in battle that you have gained on this quest. Never doubt that."

Sapphire looked quite touched. She glanced at Estel, who was watching her with a small smile, then looked back at Bahamut. "I won't."

"Good." Bahamut put his hands on her shoulders, his metallic eyes glittering in the light of the glowing stones as he smiled. "You have done so well. Though you often stumbled in the beginning, you persevered and grew, and you are now so much stronger than you were before." His smile broadened, and he gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Your parents," he said, "are so _very_ proud of you, Sapphire."

Sapphire's hands flew to her mouth.

"Oh, _really_?" she said, her voice quavering as tears appeared in her eyes. "They're… They know I'm…?"

Bahamut nodded. "They do. They're watching you from Alexander's Halls and are scarcely able to express how pleased they are with you, and what you're doing, and the wonderful young woman you've become."

Sapphire could not reply. Bahamut, understanding, gathered her into an embrace, and she looked so small enfolded in his arms, her face buried against his shimmering waistcoat.

After a moment, Bahamut ended the embrace and held Sapphire at arm's length. He gave her time to dry her eyes, then he placed his hands on either side of her head. He did not appear to do anything, but after a few seconds Sapphire gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth again.

"Oh… Oh, thank you, thank you…"

"What is it?" Estel asked, looking puzzled.

"She's a wizard now," Bahamut said, removing his hands from Sapphire's head. "Which means she's quite a bit stronger in her magic than she was when she was a mage. I know you'll make good use of these abilities," he added, addressing Sapphire.

Sapphire nodded at once. "Yes, I will. Thank you so much, Lord Bahamut."

"You're welcome. And this is also for you." As he had with Estel's swords, Bahamut reached out and grabbed something out of the air beside him: a staff made of silver-white wood with a starburst of thick quartz crystals at the top. "It's a healing staff, similar to the one Cen used in the Citadel but more powerful. And, should the need arise, it can do a fair amount of damage to an attacker as well."

Sapphire, looking quite overwhelmed, reached out and took the staff from Bahamut. She ran her fingers over the smooth wood.

"Thank you. I'm…I hardly feel I deserve all this, but…I won't let you down."

"I have complete confidence that you won't."

Sapphire just smiled and hugged her new staff to her chest. Estel took a hesitant step toward her, and she turned to him at once, beaming.

"I'm—"

"Yeah. Congratulations, Saph. You really earned it."

"Thank you."

Sapphire held her hand out to Estel, and after a half-second's pause, he reached out and clasped it.

Smiling rather paternally, Bahamut moved on, leaving Estel and Sapphire hand in hand behind him as Cen moved toward them to offer Sapphire his own congratulations. Carbuncle still glared from atop his pillar, his gem flashing as he worked to maintain the islands' defenses, but Bahamut ignored him, walking straight on to Rath standing a short distance from the other Light Warriors.

But as Bahamut approached, Rath stepped away, eyes down. Bahamut stopped.

"Rath, look at me."

Rath kept his eyes on the ground. Bahamut watched him, his expression sphinx-like once more, then, to the companions' shock, his eyes hardened and he bellowed:

"_RATH_!"

The cavern shook. The companions gasped and cringed away, and Rath staggered and half-collapsed as his knees buckled. Still, he did not look up.

"Why? You have nothing to give me."

"What makes you so certain of that?" Bahamut asked, stern.

"Because I deserve nothing."

Bahamut just continued to stare at Rath as he got shakily to his feet. The other companions watched the pair, and a palpable tension suffused the cavernous chamber.

"As it happens, I _do_ have something to give you," Bahamut said at last, his tone perfectly neutral again. "And while you are free to decline my offer, I feel it only fair to warn you: if you do not accept it, this quest _will_ fail."

A deeply uncomfortable silence fell. The other companions looked at Rath as he continued to stare at the grey stone floor, even his eyes invisible now. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Rath took a step toward Bahamut.

"…If that is how it must be, Lord Bahamut."

"It is."

Bahamut surveyed Rath for a few moments, looking thoughtful, and when he spoke again it was in Onracean. Though the other companions could not understand his words, the delicacy of his tone and faint sorrow in his eyes said much. Rath did not look at Bahamut as he spoke, instead keeping his head down and cringing every so often. The others watched with a mixture of fascination, concern, and wariness.

Bahamut did not speak long, and then after a pause he asked Rath a question. Rath shook his head. Bahamut spoke again, seeming to be pressing the issue, and then repeated his query. Rath offered a few short words in answer and shook his head again. Bahamut sighed and nodded, though he did give what sounded like a brief admonition of Rath's answer as well.

Then Rath, his voice strained, asked a question.

Inexplicably, Bahamut switched back to Common to answer.

"We have. But remember that all actions have consequences, seen and unforeseen, whether you want them to or not. Even we cannot change that."

Rath shut his eyes, though whether in dismay at the answer itself or at the fact that it had been spoken so the others could understand could not be told. He said nothing further on the subject.

"Are you ready?" Bahamut asked after a brief, prickly silence.

A longer pause, then Rath nodded.

Bahamut stepped forward and took Rath's head in his hands as he had done with Sapphire, being careful not to dislodge Rath's hat. A few seconds passed, and then Rath drew a sharp breath and clenched his hands tight at his sides. Bahamut released him and stepped back.

"You now have all the powers of black magic at your disposal," he said. "Use them well, and wisely."

Rath nodded and gave a rather stiff half-bow by way of thanks.

"This," Bahamut went on, "is also for you."

Again, he reached out and pulled something out of the air beside him. It was another staff, this one as jet black as Sapphire's was white. A polished, artful snarl of roots at the top clutched like a claw around a glimmering golden orb. Sapphire gasped as she saw it, earning puzzled looks from Cen and Estel and causing Rath to finally look up. His eyes widened as he beheld the weapon in Bahamut's hand, and he jerked backward, looking suddenly horrified.

"No! You can't—!"

"I'm not going to use it on you," Bahamut chided. He held the staff out to Rath. "Let's say, rather, that I'm lending it to you."

Rath did not look at all comforted by this. He made no move to take the staff.

"I cannot take it. You ask too much of me."

"What is it?" Estel whispered to Sapphire.

"It's the Judgment Staff," Sapphire whispered back, not taking her eyes off the exchange between Bahamut and Rath. "Bahamut's own weapon that he used in the battle with Chaos in the beginning."

"_What_?"

"Sh!"

"It is my wish," Bahamut said, tone neutral, "that you take this on the remainder of your journey. You will return it to me when you are finished, whenever that happens to be. It places great responsibility on you, true, but it is no more than you are capable of handling, and you will need this power before the end. Or are you presuming you know better than I about these matters?"

Rath stared at him, breathing hard, then he dropped his gaze and shook his head.

"…No, Lord Bahamut."

"Then take the staff."

Haltingly, Rath came forward and took the Judgment Staff from Bahamut. It was far larger than he could easily use, but after a few moments in his grip, it adjusted down to a more manageable size. Rath mumbled something in Onracean, then fell silent, clutching the staff with trembling hands.

Any lingering discomfort vanished at once as Carbuncle sat up on his pillar and began chattering at Bahamut with quite a bit of heat. Bahamut turned to look at him with a frown.

"Well, what were you expecting? I warned you when I asked you to come here."

"What's he saying?" Cen asked, looking glad of the distraction.

"Our little ceremony has drawn the Fiends' attention," Bahamut said, still watching Carbuncle fume. "They are putting all their effort into breaking through Carbuncle's barriers to come disturb us, and Carbuncle is rather resenting this. In spite of _knowing about it beforehand_," he added pointedly.

Carbuncle chirped something, sounding indignant. Bahamut just gave him a look, then turned away, coat whispering along the stone floor as he paced before the Warriors.

"Very well. It seems we might have to cut this meeting a bit shorter than I would like. At least…" He paused, cocking his head to one side, then he gave a sigh of relief. "Ah. Good. Fenrir and Leviathan have arrived. They should be able to keep the Fiends busy while we finish here." He stopped pacing and turned to the companions. "Well. Half your journey now lies behind you. But, as I think you can already guess, the half you still have to face will be much more difficult. You have decided your next course, I believe: to the Shrine of Water in Onrac?"

Cen nodded. "That's right, my lord."

"And you're quite certain about that?"

Something about Bahamut's tone made Cen hesitate.

"Uh…no?"

Bahamut half-glanced at Rath. "Where instead, then?"

Cen, Estel, and Sapphire all looked quite blank, but after a long silence Rath spoke up, having to force the speech out of his dry mouth.

"Gaia."

"Huh?" Cen stared first at Bahamut, then at Rath. "Why?"

Another silence, and then Rath answered. "…Because the Shrine of Water is at the bottom of the sea. We must attain the ability to survive underwater in order to infiltrate it. The only place such a thing can be found is in Gaia."

Cen blinked a few times.

"That's…really something you should've mentioned sooner."

Bahamut shrugged his broad shoulders. "True. However, you have all been rather preoccupied with various matters lately; I think some leniency could be extended to him for forgetting a few details."

Cen considered this, then nodded. "Yeah, that's true. Sorry, Rath."

Rath did not respond.

"So." Bahamut looked around at the group. "You have your new path set. Don't worry about trying to find your destination; there are maps aboard your ship which have it clearly marked, and I'm certain Estel's compass will be working well enough now to be able to help you. But, while you will need to leave for Gaia as soon as possible, it would be for the best if you stayed here for the night. My brothers and I will need time to stop the Fiends howling around the islands."

"You mean…they're really outside, right now?" Sapphire asked, blanching. She and Estel gripped one another's hands tighter.

Bahamut stared off into the darkness above, frowning in thought. "Well…yes and no. Their presences are there, but their physical forms are not. It's difficult to explain the exact process of what they're doing."

"…Oh."

"Regardless, with Fenrir, Leviathan, and myself working together, it shouldn't be too hard to drive them off. You'll likely be able to leave by morning, but one of my servants will let you know for certain then."

General murmurs of understanding came in reply.

"I wish we could talk longer," Bahamut said, still gazing upward, "but our other visitors aren't allowing us that luxury. I'll leave you to go rest while I take care of this. Carbuncle will accompany you to keep a few extra layers of protection around you."

From atop his pillar, Carbuncle gave a triumphant sort of whistle, which for some reason sent Sapphire into a fit of giggles. As inexplicable as this was, it did much to break the tension that had settled over the room; Cen chuckled, and even Estel smiled. Bahamut laughed as well, and the mood in the room lightened yet further.

"All right. Again, I must tell you how proud I am of all of you for everything you have done. You still have a long and difficult road ahead of you, but you know you can call on me or any of my siblings at any time, and we will do what we can to aid you. Now…" Bahamut looked around at the companions, looking each of them in the eye and holding their gazes, then he smiled, though perhaps a bit sadly. "What else can I say? My blessing goes with each of you, Warriors. Don't let us down."

"We won't, my lord," Cen said, and he bowed as Estel and Sapphire voiced their agreement.

"Good." Bahamut walked back to his dais, then turned back to the companions and beamed at them. "Farewell, for now!"

One moment, he stood on the dais as a man, and the next, the towering form of the dragon stood there again, glistening black wings half furled around the massive body and golden crown sparkling in the glow of the stones. As Cen, Estel, and Sapphire cried their farewells back to him, he spread his wings to their full, enormous span and soared up into the darkness above, disappearing from sight with a low, booming roar.


	30. The Sorcerer's Apprentice

**Chapter 30: The Sorcerer's Apprentice**

For the companions, the night passed quietly, if not yet restfully. Though Carbuncle's magical barriers kept even the slightest echo of the confrontation outside from reaching them, they were so overwhelmed by their meeting with Bahamut that they still found sleep difficult. Even so, when one of Bahamut's dragons informed them late the next morning that it was safe for them to depart, they managed to prepare and leave quickly in spite of their tiredness.

To their disappointment, Bahamut was unable to see them off personally, needing to rest from repelling the Fiends. A few of his servants came in his place, however, and after all farewells had been said, the companions boarded the _Phaëton_ and departed from the Cardian Isles. Estel and Sapphire stood at the railing, waving back, as Cen piloted the vessel away into the clear sky. Rath had already disappeared into his cabin.

"That's the best good-bye we've gotten yet," Cen said, smiling, as Estel and Sapphire left their spot at the railing.

"Too loud." Estel rubbed his forehead, brow creased. "I have a headache now."

"It's just because you haven't been sleeping well," Sapphire said, though she did look concerned. "Maybe you should go take a nap; it might help."

"Good idea…"

The pair headed into the common room, and Estel went to his cabin at once. Only a second later, however, he gave a shout of surprise. Sapphire started and hurried over to the doorway.

"What is it? What's the matter?"

Estel pointed. "Look at all this!"

Laid out on the bed were new clothes, much like Estel's old ones but better made and darker in color. A similar set made of more light-weight fabric sat folded next to it. Beside all this lay an assortment of weaponry: leaf-bladed knives; flat, star-shaped disks of metal with sharpened edges; and hand-length metal spikes. A belt with various pouches and sheaths attached to it lay beside these things, along with a rather small, rough-made book.

Sapphire looked at the peculiar weaponry with some puzzlement. "Oh." Then, after a brief thought, her eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Those must be all the new things you'll need for being a ninja."

Estel smiled and nodded, eyes alight. He settled himself cross-legged on the end of his bed and began to inspect his new accouterments with great interest. Sapphire, beaming at the return of his enthusiasm, crossed to the bed as well and picked up the little book. She flipped through it briefly, then she set it back down.

"You're really going to have your hands full, learning how to use all of this."

"Yeah… But it'll be great once I do. I mean, _look_ at these things." Estel picked up one of the stars rather gingerly, hooking his finger through the hole in the center. "Soon as I figure out how to use 'em without slicin' my fingers off, watch out."

Sapphire smiled. "I'll make sure to be careful."

"Well, I mean, _you_ wouldn't have to worry about anything," Estel said. "I didn't—"

"Oh, I know. I was just—"

"Yeah."

They stared at each other for a moment, then Sapphire succumbed to a fit of giggles. Estel did not look entirely sure what to think of this.

"We're really hopeless, aren't we?" Sapphire said once she got hold of herself.

"Guess so…"

Sapphire gave him a rather affectionate smile. "Well, it's all right. We'll get everything sorted out sooner or later."

Before Estel could do much more than look surprised, Sapphire moved to examine the paraphenalia arranged on the bed's thick quilt.

"I've never seen weapons like these before. Oh." She blinked and looked over at Estel. "Do you suppose I might have gotten something too?"

"Oh, uh, I dunno," Estel said, looking a little glad of the change of subject. "Maybe you oughta go check, huh?"

"I think I will. I'll be back to let you know."

She left, and moments later, a squeal of delight came from her cabin. It startled Estel enough to make him almost fall off his bed. He darted out of his room, but before he could check on her, she slammed her door. He slid to a halt just outside.

"Are you okay?" he called to her.

"I'm fine!" Sapphire called back. "Oh, wait until you see!"

Rather than return to his cabin, Estel remained in the common room, hovering in a half-casual, half-awkward way amidst the chairs until Sapphire opened her door.

"Well?" she asked. "What do you think?"

She held her arms out and turned in place so he could see her from all sides. She had received new clothes: wizard's robes to replace her old mage's ones. The new attire looked similar to her old: completely white, aside from the red triangle pattern along the bottom hem, with long, loose sleeves. After this, however, the style diverged. Though there was a hood, Sapphire left it back, and the robes were tailored to accentuate her figure somewhat more. They were also layered, with wide-legged trousers underneath and a more coat-like garment over the top, which was held closed with golden fasteners. The fabric moved surprisingly well, flexible enough to allow free movement and not make an impediment of itself. Finishing her twirl, Sapphire, beaming, turned back to look at Estel.

"Does it look all right?"

Estel nodded, having gone a bit tongue-tied. Sapphire looked genuinely pleased, and she started to say something, but then she changed her mind and started over.

"Thank you; I'm glad you like it. Come on, I want to show Cen." She reached out, took Estel's hand, and towed him and his now slightly surprised expression across the common room and outside with her.

* * *

The companions did not travel far that day, only going as far as the clearing where they had stopped to rest after exiting the Citadel. Cen settled the airship down around mid-evening and retired to his cabin; Estel's headache, which had been growing steadily worse, appeared to be somehow contagious. It so drove Cen to distraction that he scarcely looked at the new items left in his cabin— a full suit of dragonscale mail with accompanying shield and helm—before crawling into bed. Estel had done the same himself not long before.

Sapphire spent much of the evening going back and forth between their cabins to tend to and fuss over the pair. With her help, the worst of the discomfort abated, and by the time night truly fell, all the companions were asleep, the first real restful sleep they had been able to attain since the Citadel of Trials.

Unfortunately, the peaceful quiet broke just after midnight, when Estel woke from the middle of a dream and found his bed on fire.

He jerked upright with a cry, recoiling from the orange flames engulfing the foot of his bed. He flung his blankets over the conflagration to try to smother it, but the flames just sprang up anew.

"Cen! Cen, help!"

Within seconds, Cen staggered into the room. He looked half-asleep, but he snapped to full wakefulness as he saw the fire. Swearing, he dived forward and started trying to beat out the flames. Estel joined him, looking frantic, but for each patch they managed to extinguish, a new blaze erupted.

"Estel, what did you do?!"

"I don't know! I just woke up and—"

"_Move_!"

Cen and Estel flung themselves back at once, and a blast of cold rushed past them, dousing the fire and encasing the end of the bed in ice. This began to melt at once as Estel stared at it, and tiny flames licked up along its edge, but Rath, the air around him glimmering and chill as he stepped into the room, put a stop to that.

"Look at me, Estel," he snapped. "Look at me!"

Estel jerked around to face Rath, and the ice stopped melting, but curls of smoke began to rise from Rath's collar and the brim of his hat instead. Then, just as suddenly, it stopped as a renewed surge of icy cold pressed out like a barrier, blocking and absorbing the heat. The air between Estel and Rath sparked and wavered.

"Stay focused on me," Rath said, cold and stern. "It will stop in time, but until then you should avoid causing any more damage than you already have."

Estel nodded hard.

"Rath, what's going on?" Cen asked. He got to his feet shakily, holding his hands carefully so he would not touch anything with his burned palms.

"Estel has become a spellcaster. Now be silent; I do not need any distractions while doing this."

He need not have given this command: his answer left both Cen and Estel speechless. Less than a minute later, the magical turbulence lessened, then vanished altogether. The cold overwhelmed the room briefly before Rath stopped casting, then the temperature returned to something more normal. The air tasted sour from the smoke.

Rath flicked on the lights. Estel half-collapsed back against his pillows and headboard. His face had gone pale.

"What just…that…" He jabbed a shaking finger at the wet, scorched bedclothes. "You mean, _I_ did that? I'm a…?"

"Undeniably." Rath looked over the ice-entombed remains of the bed with dispassion. "It seems Lord Bahamut bestowed a few gifts upon us about which he neglected to provide adequate information. Or adequate forewarning."

Estel stared at Rath, stunned. "I'm—ugh…" He broke off with a groan and put his hand to his forehead. "Ah, my head… What's wrong with me?"

"Your mind is being rearranged, for lack of a better word. It has had something entirely foreign to you forced into it and is now trying to compensate for the sudden addition. As I said, this will be temporary."

Out in the common room, there came the sound of a door opening, and a moment later, Sapphire appeared in the doorway behind Rath, looking disheveled and concerned.

"What's going on? I heard—" She broke off with a gasp as she saw the state of the room. "Estel, what happened? Are you all right?"

Estel gave a vague nod, still looking rattled. Sapphire started to go to him, but Rath stopped her before she could go more than a few steps. She stared at him.

"Rath? You're…out of your room."

"Cast Silence on him," Rath said, ignoring her stunned observation. "He will need it tonight regardless, and it will make things safer for all of us now."

"Silence?" Sapphire looked baffled, then her eyes widened. "You mean he's… But, that's not poss—!"

"Given the nature of our experiences these last few days," Rath interrupted, eyes narrowed in his old, familiar expression of annoyance, "I believe our list of possible phenomena could do with some sizeable revisions."

Sapphire could not contest this. She turned to Estel, murmured an incantation under her breath, and gestured toward him. Translucent runic seals appeared around his wrists and throat, and as soon as these were in place, Sapphire pushed past Rath and went to sit at Estel's side.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

Estel shook his head. "I think I'm okay. Just kinda shook up."

Sapphire sighed in relief and hugged him. He wrapped his arms over one of hers, too distracted by what happened to feel anything but grateful for her support. Sapphire straightened up, and Estel turned to look at her only to see that she was beaming at him.

"Oh, congratulations, Estel!"

"I…what?" Estel stared at her, baffled. "But, Saph…didn't you see what I did?"

"It's fine," Sapphire assured him. "Black magic always manifests with things like that; it's perfectly normal. Really."

"She is correct," Rath said when Estel continued to look confused and worried. "While it is fortunate the situation was caught and handled swiftly, this was nothing out of the ordinary or distressing."

"It _feels_ distressin'," Estel murmured, slouching back.

"Oh, Estel…" Sapphire hugged him again, tighter this time, though she still smiled. "It's all right, really. When I first presented it really scared me as well, so I understand that you're startled. But this really is a good thing. I mean…" She sat up straight so she could look Estel in the eyes. "This has never, ever happened like this before. People with magical talent always manifest when they're children, twelve year olds at the latest. You're the first person in the world to get abilities like this at a different age."

"I call second," Cen said, monotone. The others turned to look at him as he stared down at his palms.

Wispy greenish light ghosted out from Cen's fingertips, barely visible in the light of the room. In lazy streams, the glow wrapped around his hands, mending the burns. Even after his hands were healed, the faint green light continued to flow, drifting out in random directions like trails of mist. Estel and Sapphire both stared, but Rath just sighed and shook his head.

"Well, Sapphire, it seems we have each acquired an apprentice."

Sapphire looked almost beside herself. "Oh, we have! This is so exciting! Cen, Estel, I'm so happy for you!" She gave Estel a tighter squeeze, then released him and went to Cen to hug him as well. Cen looked rather bemusedly pleased by her reaction and hugged her back on reflex.

Estel looked at Rath. "So I gotta work with _you_?"

Rath gave him a rather dull look and did not answer. "I suggest you get some more sleep. We begin lessons in the morning." He turned and left the room.

Estel and Sapphire watched him leave, Estel looking more dubious, Sapphire confused and a bit worried. After a brief silence, Estel turned back to Sapphire as the look on his face became a more worried one again.

"I'm gonna be okay now, right? I mean, to sleep?"

"You'll be just fine. That spell won't stop working until I take it off you."

"Good…"

"What spell did you do when this happened to you, Saph?" Cen asked. He was staring down at his hands rather thoughtfully.

Sapphire shuffled a bit.

"Fear," she said at last. Cen and Estel both looked at her with some surprise, and she continued. "That…wasn't very nice. You're supposed to wake up _from_ nightmares, not _into_ them."

Cen winced. "Ouch…"

"Yeah…" Estel stared at the foot of his bed, seeming to be only half-seeing it. "I guess this wasn't so bad, really."

Sapphire smiled. "You don't have to say that just for me. Mine really wasn't too bad, and it definitely wasn't this dangerous." She started toward the door. "Come on, Estel; you need a new room so you can get back to sleep."

* * *

Not surprisingly, Estel did not sleep quite as easy the rest of the night. When he emerged from his new cabin the next morning, he looked disheveled from tossing and turning, and his eyes were slightly bloodshot. Cen, already out in the common room and waiting for him, looked much better, eliciting a few glares from his drowsy friend.

"Sorry," Cen said with a shrug and a rather helpless expression. In a premeditated effort to make amends, he held out a breakfast-laden plate to Estel. "Here. You'll feel better once you've eaten."

After examining the proffered food for any evidence that Cen had personally cooked any of it, Estel gave a grunt of approval and accepted the plate. He flopped down on a nearby sofa and started to eat. Cen turned his attention back to his own plate.

Once they had finished and cleaned up, the pair went outside. They found Sapphire and Rath already out on deck and waiting for them, Rath standing at the railing and staring out at nothing, and Sapphire kneeling in the middle of the deck and sifting through some spellbooks, though she looked up as the others arrived. While Cen and Estel had expected to find the two mages there already, one particular detail served to make the scene decidedly surreal.

Rath was not wearing his usual threadbare robes. He instead wore a long coat almost identical to Sapphire's except that it was a deep, rich blue instead of white, with silver fastenings down the front and the same distinctive high collar as his old robes. Beneath this, he had on black trousers and boots. The only familiar feature was his hat, and even that looked cleaner and less battered.

Seeming to sense Cen and Estel's astonished gazes, Rath turned to look at them.

"Is something amiss?"

"Yeah, you're—" Estel started, but he broke off with a grunt as Cen elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"No, everything's fine," Cen said, giving Estel a pointed look.

Estel stared at him, then shook his head and shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Fine."

"Good. Then let us begin."

Rath gestured for Cen and Estel to join him; he looked about to say something, perhaps begin a lecture, but Sapphire got to her feet and spoke first.

"We won't be doing any traveling today," she told them. "Just this. This is…kind of an odd situation, so we'll want to get everything figured out before we get too much farther along with the quest."

"Regardless of the novelty," Rath said, shooting a look at Sapphire, "learning magic takes an exorbitant amount of time and effort, and if these gifts are to be of any use on our journey, a great deal of intense training will be necessary. The sooner we begin and the swifter we attempt to progress, the better."

He said this with a surprising amount of insistence, and Estel stared at him in confusion and slight unease. Cen, on the other hand, just nodded.

"That makes sense." He thought for a moment, then asked, "How hard do you think this's going to be to learn?"

"It shouldn't be too hard," Sapphire said when Rath did not answer right away. "Estel might have an easier time of it, since white magic is considered more difficult than black magic. That will be later, though, since the beginning process for both really is just the same."

"Huh. Well, okay. Then let's get started, I guess."

Sapphire smiled and nodded, then turned to Rath. "You can go ahead with the basics, if you like; I need to finish going through my books." She returned to her stack of tomes and sat down beside them, resuming her work.

Rath left the railing and began to pace, slow and somewhat ponderous, across the deck. Cen and Estel watched him until he came to a halt and turned to look at them.

"What I will begin teaching you today," he said, "can be roughly equated to drawing water from a well. You now have a source of power in your minds, and you must be able to tap this, quickly and cleanly, if you wish to use it."

Sapphire looked up from the book in her lap as Cen and Estel nodded their understanding of Rath's statement. Estel glanced at her, and she caught his eye and smiled at him before looking back down and flipping further through the book. Smiling a little now as well, Estel looked back at Rath as he continued his explanation.

"It is important to keep in mind that this power is only the fuel source for the spells. For the energy to be converted to a viable form, knowledge of the process is needed; that is to say, you must know how to move the water from the bottom of the well to the surface so you may use it. To continue this analogy, while with a well you would use a bucket and rope to achieve this, with magic, you use concentration and the power of the mind to draw the energy out and give it physical shape." He looked from Cen to Estel and back. "Do you both follow this?"

Estel nodded, and after a few seconds Cen did as well. Rath went on.

"Based on this, the condition of the mind plays a large part in the effectiveness of a spell. A person may be gifted with a great store of magical talent, yet if their mental clarity is poor, they will be weak spellcasters."

"What d'you mean, clarity?" Estel asked, frowning.

"Several things. First, aptitude at absorbing and retaining information. Second, the ability to readily and accurately recall that information when it is needed. Third, being able to clear the mind and focus entirely on the task at hand. If a person has difficulty with any of these areas, he or she will find spellcasting to be an arduous endeavor. Rather like," he added, returning to the metaphor, "attempting to carry water in a leaking bucket."

"Oh…"

"On that note, however, know these things have no influence on what spells can be learned. The extent of the talent determines how far one can progress in that respect. What this 'intelligence', for lack of a better word, does influence is how powerful a given spell will be. For example, a Fire spell cast by myself and a Fire spell cast by Estel would be very different, as my mental condition is at a higher level than his due to my years of practice. Similarly, Sapphire's greater knowledge and training would allow her to cast a more powerful, focused Cure spell than Cen could."

"How will we know what spells we can learn?" Cen asked.

"How you manifested the talent gives a rough idea of your limitations. You presented with Cure, and Estel with Fire, both very basic spells. This shows your talent is similarly low level."

"Makes sense," Cen said after considering this point briefly.

"I believe," Rath said, "that much theory will suffice for now. As I said, the greater priority is achieving the focus and clarity needed to locate and tap the energy in your mind; if nothing else, the quicker you gain that ability, the quicker you will be able to sleep through the night without casting yourself awake."

"Sounds good to me," Estel said with a shudder.

"I imagine it would," Rath said dryly. "Regardless, the actual rest will not be an issue. You will be sleeping a great deal during these lessons; your mental reservoirs are so miniscule at this point that any expenditure will exhaust them."

This made Sapphire look up, her face going red. "Oh, I'd forgotten about that…" She covered her mouth, looking mortified.

Rath lifted his gaze skyward and made a quiet exasperated noise, then, looking slightly disgusted, turned to Sapphire.

"That is not a sensitivity you can afford to hold at the moment."

"I know, but—"

"Then do something about it. I do not care what."

Sapphire looked taken aback by his brusque command but did not protest it. Frowning, she looked back down at her books.

"As I was saying," Rath said, turning back to Cen and Estel, "as you are novices, even the slightest touch on your reserves at this point will drain them entirely. The more you practice, however, the greater your reserves will grow. Do keep in mind, though, that the greater the reserves, the longer the period to restore them; as you advance, you will need to be aware of that."

Cen nodded. "Okay, we will. So how do we find the energy and tap it?"

"Meditation."

Estel blinked. "What?"

"That stuff like the monks do back home," Cen explained. "You know, like…" He sat down cross-legged, shut his eyes, and put on what he no doubt thought was a mystic expression. Then he stopped this and looked up at Estel. "Like that."

"Oh." Estel considered this, then his face twisted into a look of dislike. "But that looks boring. We seriously just gotta sit there doin' that, until we pass out from it?"

Cen shrugged and got to his feet. "I guess."

"That's dumb."

"The end result is worth the temporary boredom," Rath said, glaring. "Now, if we may…"

The rest of the day consisted of Rath explaining the proper way to meditate and stating repeatedly that it would likely be quite some time before either Cen or Estel achieved any results. The two men looked rather put out by this until Rath, slightly piqued, pointed out that they were the only people in this history of the world to have received an opportunity like this, and Bahamut would have every right to take the talent away if they were only going to complain and be ungrateful about it.

Cen and Estel stopped their grumbling after this.

Things concluded at sunset; Rath went inside without comment, and Sapphire called the lesson to a close when it became clear that he would not be reappearing. She, Cen, and Estel made their way out of the cool night air and into the common room.

"Is it going to be like this every day?" Cen asked, eyebrow raised in a dubious expression. For all that he was the most tolerant of Rath's oddities, even he could only take so many lectures. "This and sitting around with our eyes shut, I mean?"

"For the first little while, yes," Sapphire said, sounding almost apologetic. "You won't have to spend all your time on these lessons, of course, but it would be better to do as much as you can with them. Once you've managed to reach the energy, though, it gets better, or more interesting, I mean." She went pink and shook her head. "I…really do need to do something about this…"

"Well, you can practice that while we're practicing our stuff, I guess."

Cen bade the others good-night, then went to his cabin. Sapphire started to leave as well, but Estel caught her by the arm. She looked at him with surprise.

"What is it, Estel?"

"What's goin' on with Rath?" Estel asked.

Sapphire sounded uncertain as she replied. "It…doesn't look like there's anything wrong…"

"Yeah, exactly. Something isn't wrong way too fast this time."

Sapphire sighed and glanced over at Rath's door.

"Yes, I know. I think it's…he's still very upset, but he doesn't want us to know, or to wonder, what about all this has him so upset. So he's just bottling it all up, and pretending everything's back to normal even though it isn't. I know it's not good for him, but it's like Cen said: we can't do anything for him unless he comes to us. All we can do right now is act just like he is, like nothing's wrong."

"It's pretty damn creepy, though."

"Please don't swear."

"Sorry."

The pair fell silent for a while, then Estel spoke up.

"Can you cast that spell on me before you go? Only I'd really rather not burn down another bed if I can help it."

His self-deprecating humor belied the worried expression in his eyes. Sapphire smiled and gave his arm a reassuring pat.

"Of course I can." She murmured the spell, and the translucent seals appeared around Estel's wrists and throat. "You won't have to worry about this for too long," she assured him. "These displays never last for more than a couple of weeks."

"…Good to know."

"I thought so." Sapphire rested her hand on Estel's arm. "I hope you sleep well."

"Thanks. You too."

Sapphire half-turned to leave, but then she stopped, hesitating. She turned back to Estel and, her face going pink, she kissed him on the cheek before scurrying off to her room and shutting the door behind her. Estel stared after her, looking quite stunned, and put his hand to his cheek as though on reflex. Then he smiled, just a little, looking pleased, relieved, and grateful all at once, and went to his own cabin.

* * *

The next few days proceeded almost identically to one another. Each morning, after they had eaten, Cen and Estel would come out on deck to start their exercises. Rath and Sapphire took it in turns to supervise them, with whoever was 'off-duty' taking the steering pedestal and keeping the _Phaëton_ on its new course to Gaia—more or less east-northeast from the Cardian Isles. Piloting the ship, even at the slow pace they had decided to keep, immediately proved to be the more productive of the two jobs; as Rath had predicted, Cen and Estel made absolutely no show of progress. Though expected, this still bothered the two young men, though they knew better than to complain about it in Rath's presence. Doing so, or growing too restless, only earned them a sharp flick to the temple and a reprimand.

"Y'know, that doesn't help," Estel said sourly, rubbing the sore spot beside his eye. "Can't concentrate if we're worried you're about to do that."

"Given the rather stringent time constraints under which we are working, I believe I am justified in my actions; you need to learn these things as swiftly as possible, and you will not do so if you persist in not applying yourselves to the task."

Rath's dedication to instructing Cen and Estel bordered on militant. Sometimes, it seemed as though they were back at the beginning of their quest, as Rath's behavior had reverted to almost exactly what it had been then, if not even more strict. None of the growing camaradarie or stress from the quest showed in his demeanor or actions, and when anything even remotely like an emotional response threatened to show itself, he would leave immediately and return a few minutes later, all business once more.

Cen went along with the situation as though Rath's attitude was in no way out of the ordinary. Estel and Sapphire, however, could not let the subject alone. They spent spare moments with their heads together, trying to work out something unobtrusive they could do about the matter. Though this distraction did prove to be good for them—the remaining awkwardness between them began to melt away as they spent more time together—they made very little headway with their plans.

On the whole, it was a very frustrating trip. A week passed, and the next began to crawl by with scarcely any change. It was nearly, Estel confided in Sapphire one evening, as awful as the days before when there had been too _much_ going on, but in a different way. Sapphire nodded in solemn agreement and gave his arm a hug.

The second week of travel toward Gaia drew near its close. The _Phaëton_ cruised eastward at a leisurely pace, high above a vast expanse of rocky, wind-blasted desert. Rath stood at the steering pedestal and seemed to be fighting the urge to go correct Cen and Estel about their exercises; apparently he did not feel Sapphire's more laid-back supervision method was productive enough, as she did such deplorable things as allowing the men to take breaks and letting them go do other things if they were getting bored. Sapphire had enough tact not to make the obvious counter-argument to this. Cen and Estel just continued on as they had every other day, attempting to achieve contact with the surprisingly elusive magical energy in their minds and letting Rath and Sapphire bicker over methodology. Cen leaned against the railing, watching fat, cottony clouds roll past the airship. Estel paced in aimless circles; once in a while he would stop and rub his forehead, but then he would start walking again as though nothing had happened.

Then, without warning, his eyes slipped shut and he crumpled.

"Oh!"

Sapphire, who was nearest, rushed over and managed to half-catch him before he could crash to the deck. His limp weight pushed her down as well, and she sat with a thump, the soundly sleeping Estel collapsed against her. Sapphire's face went scarlet.

"Oh dear…"

"Hey, he did it!"

Cen straightened up and went to kneel beside Estel and Sapphire, just as Rath halted the airship and hurried over, looking stunned. Estel slept on, oblivious, while Sapphire tried to adjust her hold to keep him upright better with minimum discomfort.

"Astounding," Rath said. He stared down at Estel, a look of shock and something like relief in his eyes. "I never thought he would succeed so quickly."

"…How long will he be asleep?" Sapphire asked. She had a peculiar look on her face, one which clashed somehow with the awkwardness that radiated from her.

Rath gave her as much of a dull look as he could muster in his astonishment. "You should know an approximate answer to that." When Sapphire just continued to look uncomfortable and somehow contradictory, he rolled his eyes and continued. "But if you insist, I do not think he will remain in that state for more than a few minutes."

"…All right."

"How long you sleep changes?" Cen asked, looking up at Rath.

"It increases along with one's magical reserves. I believe…by now, I would need to sleep for upward of one and a half days to fully restore myself."

Cen stared. "Seriously?"

Rath nodded.

"Huh." Cen considered this, then got to his feet and walked back to his spot at the railing. "Well, now that Estel's done it, I'll have to work extra hard; he won't let me live it down that he beat me as it is." He stretched, then settled down on the ruddy deck to resume his efforts.

Only a minute or so later, Estel began to stir. He gave an indistinct mumble and scratched his head, then opened his eyes and looked around in bleary puzzlement.

"Wha…?"

"Congratulations," Rath said, his tone crisp. "You have succeeded in this task in record time."

"I…what? Y'mean I…"

Estel trailed off as he started to realize the nature of his current position. With apprehensive curiosity, he felt at Sapphire's hands lying across his chest, then, not looking, touched her leg just beside him. He gave some thought to all this, looking fully awake all of a sudden, then quite deliberately turned to look at Sapphire's still-red face. Sitting up did not seem to occur to him.

"Oh," he said.

"I couldn't just let you fall," Sapphire said, smiling with a bit of that same peculiar expression. "You might have gotten hurt."

"Oh. Yeah. Thanks."

Judging by the expression on his face, Estel seemed to be undergoing some intense internal debate. Rath put an end to the struggle before a conclusion could be reached, however.

"Sapphire, release him. We have more work to do."

"Oh. Well…" Sapphire relinquished her hold on Estel, and he straightened up with some reluctance. "You did just say that he's doing much better than you thought he would. Don't you think he deserves a break?"

"No," Rath said, without even a pause for consideration.

Sapphire gaped, but then her expression hardened. She stood up.

"'No' yourself," she said, and all three men stared at her. "I'm in charge of the lessons right now, and I say Estel gets the rest of the day off. What he just did is one of the hardest parts, and I think that deserves a reward." She helped Estel to his feet.

Rath watched her deliver this rebuke with astonishment, then his eyes narrowed. He made an exasperated noise and turned away.

"Do as you will." He returned to the steering pedestal, fuming.

"Thank you, I will." Sapphire took Estel's hand in a firm grip. "Come on, Estel." She strode to the cabins and went inside, Estel just behind her and looking stunned. Faint behind them came the sound of Cen choking back his reaction to avoid provoking Rath.

Sapphire released Estel's hand and shut the common room door. She was breathing rather hard but looked quite pleased with herself. Estel stared at her.

"You just told off Rath," he said.

"Well, really," Sapphire said. "He was being completely unreasonable. He'd said himself that you doing that so quickly was amazing, and—"

"Sorry for makin' you have to catch me like that."

Sapphire stopped short, trying to adjust to the change of subject. "I…oh, that's all right, Estel. I didn't mind, really."

Estel looked dubious. "…Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course."

"'Cause you were blushin' really bad."

"Oh." Sapphire put her hand to her cheek, looking a little embarrassed. "That was because of why you fainted, that's all. Well, mostly all. But, really, it doesn't matter. I didn't want you to hurt yourself."

Estel frowned, not entirely convinced. Sapphire sighed.

"I wish you wouldn't be so nervous. Everything's all right now."

"I just don't wanna—"

Sapphire put her hand over his mouth, cutting him off. "You don't have anything to worry about. Everything's been going so well lately, and I don't want you to start feeling guilty again just because you had a little accident and I helped you with it."

Estel started to reply, then he stopped, moved Sapphire's hand away from his mouth, and tried again.

"I'm tryin', but—"

"Estel."

Estel broke off as Sapphire interrupted him. He continued to look uncertain as he watched her, but she just smiled in a reassuring sort of way.

"It's okay," she said. "Don't worry about anything."

She hugged him. He looked a little startled at first, but then he relaxed and returned the gesture.

"So what are you going to do with your day off?" Sapphire asked as she ended the embrace and looked up at him.

"Um…" Estel thought about this. "I dunno. I wasn't really figurin' I'd get one, to be honest." Some further consideration, then he shrugged. "There's always my ninja stuff I can mess around with, I guess. I swear, just a couple more days and I'll be able to figure out what the writing in that book says."

Sapphire giggled. "It is a little blurry, isn't it?"

"Yeah, the same way that creep worms are a 'little' disgusting."

"Oh, ew!" Sapphire pulled a face but kept laughing. "Don't bring those things up, please!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Smiling a little himself, Estel mock-cringed and lifted his hands as though to fend off a blow. "It was the only thing I could think of to make my point!"

"Oh, well, that makes it all right, then." Sapphire took Estel's hands and pulled them down so she could see his face. "Why don't you go get all your things and bring them out here, and then I'll help you with the book, all right?"

"Yeah, okay."

Estel freed his hands and went to get his new gear from his cabin, and Sapphire settled herself down on a sofa to wait for him.


	31. Mountain Hideaway

**Chapter 31: Mountain Hideaway**

"No! Nearly, but no! Now try it again."

"I've been tryin' again all day, and it still doesn't work! I'm tired and I wanna take a break."

"You _will_ finish this today, Estel. Now _try again_."

Estel glared at Rath, then at the small cushion that was serving as his target. He had reached something of an impasse; while he had finally built up a usable-sized magic reserve, he seemed unable to do anything with it. He found this frustrating and somehow unfair, but Rath's attitude toward the matter was infinitely worse, and he worked Estel with an intensity that the others had not seen in him before. Sapphire, standing at the steering pedestal, watched with concern as Estel again held his hand out toward the pillow and again failed to produce the concussive blast of raw energy which was his goal. Rath drew breath to speak, looking surly, but Sapphire cut him off.

"That's not helping him, Rath."

Rath gave her a look. Sapphire frowned right back.

"It's not!" she said, indignant. "It's just putting him off his concentration. Just leave him alone for a bit, and let him try again when he's calmed down."

"If I leave him alone," Rath said, terse, "he will stop working. He—"

"Well, then maybe it _is_ time to stop. It's nearly evening, anyway."

"He needs to do this, Sapphire!"

"Yeah, and I can damn well do it tomorrow instead," Estel said before Sapphire could retort. "No more practice today." To emphasize his point, he went and sat on the cushion, arms folded, looking obstinate.

Rath glowered, but it seemed he had reached the limit of his perseverence on the matter. He snapped a curse in Onracean in a very scathing tone, then turned and left, disappearing into the common room.

The other three companions watched him go. Cen just shook his head and went back to his meditation, but Estel and Sapphire exchanged looks.

"Not one word," Cen said before either of them could speak.

Sapphire sighed and looked at him. "But, Cen—"

"I just don't see the problem. So he's acting like Rath; the way you two are carrying on, you'd think that was something new."

Neither Estel nor Sapphire replied; they knew he had a point. Estel got to his feet, straightened the cushion, and stepped away to take aim at it again. As before, nothing happened. He sighed and let his hand flop down to his side.

"Don't worry about it, Estel," Sapphire said. "Everyone has a difficult time in the early stages like this; you shouldn't expect too much."

"Yeah, but I did everything else so fast…"

"And that was very, very unusual. You're just coming back down to normal with the rest of us." She gave a reassuring sort of smile.

Estel continued to stare at the cushion.

"It's like…it's like there's a cork stuck in the way or something. Well, no, it's more like…y'know, when you start to sneeze, but then it goes away before you can, and you're just left with a plugged-up nose and a headache. It feels almost exactly like that, except for the nose part."

"Oh." Sapphire nodded. "I understand. I was right, then; you're having trouble concentrating, and that's creating a blockage. It's a very common problem early on. You just need to calm your mind and focus a little, and it should clear up."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. You can sort it out before too long, if you try. Rath's just being…a bit impatient about things." She looked over at Cen, seated by the railing beside her. "Can you come take the levistone for a moment, please?"

"Sure."

Cen got to his feet and moved to take Sapphire's place. Sapphire thanked him and walked over to stand by Estel.

"Think about something relaxing," she told him. "If you're tense or nervous, it just makes the block worse, so being in a good frame of mind helps a lot. You should be able to feel the difference after a while."

Estel nodded, staring down at the grain of the deck with a neutral expression. Only a second later, though, he looked up at Sapphire.

"So, if you need to be calm, how come you and Rath can still cast stuff when you're in complete fits?"

Sapphire gave a half-smile. "Well, we _have_ been doing this for much longer than you. Once you've worked at your skills for a long time, using them becomes almost second nature, so what mood you're in isn't as important."

Estel considered this. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Were you going to give this a try now?"

Estel started to answer, then he stopped and shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so. I'm really pretty sick of this."

Sapphire nodded. "That's all right. You can just try again tomorrow."

"Except we'll probably be pretty busy tomorrow," Cen put in. "We should get to Gaia then, and there'll be stuff we have to do."

"Oh, that's right." Sapphire blinked in surprise. "Goodness, I'd almost forgotten we were so close."

"So what're we gonna have to get there?" Estel asked. He planted himself on the deck and scooped the cushion up onto his lap. "Rath never said exactly."

"It's called oxyale," Sapphire explained. She sat down as well, leaning sideways against the railing. "It's a special kind of liquid that, if you drink it, allows you to breathe underwater. Gaia is the only place in the world where it can be found."

"They make it?"

"No, it's a natural substance; the people just collect it. I think I remember reading that it comes from a special spring."

"Huh." Estel poked rather absently at the cushion. "Well, there you go."

Cen stared off into the darkening sky in front of the airship and frowned.

"If it's that rare, then it's going to be expensive…"

"Well, I can just—" Estel broke off with a cringe. "Um, I mean, there's probably stuff down in the hold we could sell or something to get whatever money we need."

Sapphire straightened up, looking at Estel with pleasant surprise. Estel squirmed a little.

"Hey, I said I'd try. This is like practice, so, thinking about trying."

Sapphire giggled. "Well, that's very good of you. Thank you for thinking about trying to change."

Estel half-smiled and looked away, rubbing the back of his head.

* * *

The _Phaëton_ began its final approach to Gaia the next day just as the sun was setting. The city lay in a high mountain valley on a peninsula known colloquially as Hawk's Head, thanks to its shape. Compared to many of the cities in the south, Gaia was quite small, only a fraction of the size of Elfheim or Cornelia's capital. The surrounding mountains and thick tree cover gave it a very sheltered look, and from above, everything looked either a grey, mossy color, or else a deep, pure green.

The companions landed a short distance away from the town, out of sight behind a low ridge of foothills so as not to provoke alarm. They gathered up any things they thought they would need for the excursion. Just as they finished preparing, however, Rath emerged from his cabin, swathed in his heavy cold-weather gear they had purchased in Crescent Lake. Estel stared at him in confusion.

"But…it's almost summer now, Rath."

Rath gave him a look. "It is nearly winter."

"No." Estel shook his head. "It was winter when we were down around Crescent. Spring should be almost over by now, and that means it'll be summer."

"When it is summer in the south, it is winter in the north. As I am the only one here to have lived in both halves of the world, I would not expect you to know that."

This explanation did not help much; Estel just looked more puzzled and exchanged a look with Cen.

"That's stupid. Why isn't it just the same all over?"

"Because it is not," Rath said with irritated finality.

The knowledge that Rath did not know the reason either was somewhat placating, and Estel let the matter drop. He and the others went back to their cabins to put on their warmer clothes as well.

They felt pangs of gratitude for this the moment they stepped out of the airship. A sharp breeze blew, and there was a biting, wintry chill in the air. Sapphire shivered and pulled her cloak more closely around herself. Rath watched as the others readjusted their hastily thrown on gear; he did not look smug in the strictest sense, but the cool knowingness in his gaze and posture was nearly as annoying.

"Okay, okay," Estel said at last, frowning at him. "We believe you, so stop lookin' at us like that. Can we get goin' now?"

Rath waved a permissive hand. "By all means."

The landscape around Gaia proved more interesting than it looked from the air. The rich green turf had an almost spongy texture to it, and the companions' feet sank deep into the yielding moss. The forest, coating the slopes of the mountains and trailing down in long fingers into the valley, consisted almost entirely of tall, thin pines, the ground below them thick with fallen needles; even at a distance, their pungent smell tinged the air. Small, dark tarns lay dotted here and there across the valley, along with the occasional large standing stone; a few herds of massive, shaggy cattle grazed idly around these. A faint mist hung close to the ground, especially near the tiny lakes, and the air smelled cold and damp.

Gaia itself stood at the northernmost end of the valley, climbing partway up the slopes of the foothills against which it nestled. A thick border wall surrounded it, overgrown with moss, bracken, and shaggy evergreens. The heavy log gates stood open.

The companions made their way along the winding, packed-dirt streets, eliciting more than a few looks from the locals. The people all had a decidedly burly build, tall and broad, and the Light Warriors' slighter frames and foreign attire drew attention. Rath reacted to this in his usual way, slumping down as though trying to vanish, but the other three did not seem to notice, too busy looking around at the new sights as they walked.

"They got weird buildings here," Estel commented, tilting his head at a house they passed. The roof was so sharply pitched that the eaves nearly touched the ground, making the house look triangular rather than square like those in Crescent or Cornelia. "Why're they pointy like that?"

Cen shrugged and brought the group to a halt. "So, where are we supposed to go to get this stuff, Rath?"

Rath started, as though Cen had shaken him from a reverie. "As I have never been here personally, I do not know where precisely the oxyale can be obtained."

Estel and Sapphire glanced at each other, but Cen just sighed and shook his head.

"Okay, well, I guess we can just ask someone. And we can find out where an inn is, while we're at it."

He approached a passing woman nearly as tall as he was. "Excuse me, can you tell me where—?"

The woman cut him off, speaking in an entirely unfamiliar language. She shook her head as she spoke, pointing off up the street the way she had come, then turned and continued on her way. Cen stared after her.

"What…?"

"She was speaking Gaian," Rath said. He foled his arms up inside his cloak, as he lacked a staff to hold—he had left the Judgment Staff locked up in a cabin on the airship, where he would not have to look at it. "Your Common language is only that in the south; in this half of the world, matters are quite different."

"So…" Estel, somewhat puzzled, considered this. "So, it's everything in the north that's backwards, not just the seasons?"

Rath rolled his eyes but gave no reply. Sapphire patted Estel's arm, and Cen started looking around at the surrounding buildings and passing townspeople again.

"Might someone here know _your_ language, Rath?" Sapphire asked.

Rath's shoulders went stiff, and he shook his head. "Highly doubtful."

"Well, okay," Cen said after some thought. "Not fun, but we've had worse problems. I guess we'll just have to mime everything and hope someone gets it…"

The group set off down the street again. Now that they all knew of the language discrepancy, they found their attention more and more drawn to it. People around them carried on completely unintelligible conversations, and the signs outside shops could not be read, being in both the strange language and a strange script. On instinct, Cen, Estel, and Sapphire moved to walk a bit closer together. Sapphire took Estel's hand. Only Rath did not appear bothered, instead perturbed only by the stares the group continued to attract.

They turned onto what looked like a main thoroughfaire and proceeded westward along it. More people were here, going about on errands, and with so many others present, the companions drew somewhat less attention. Cen tried a few more times to ask for directions, both aloud and with the addition of hand signals, but his queries all brought identical, meaningless replies, and he soon gave up.

"Do they even use the same money as us here?" Estel asked after a while, looking quite concerned. "How're we gonna pay for food or anything?"

"Feeling hungry, Estel?" Cen asked, glancing back over his shoulder at the others with a bit of a smile.

"It's past dinnertime, I know it," Estel said, a bit sullen. "Unless they have dinner at a completely different time here too."

"Well, we'll see what—whoa!"

A figure, wrapped head to foot in robes of eye-watering shades of yellow and red, appeared as though out of nowhere, dashing down a side street and headlong at the companions. Cen dodged out of the way in time, but the figure crashed right into Estel and Sapphire, sending them staggering; Sapphire hung on to Estel's arm to keep from falling. The figure backed up a few steps, readjusted its direction, then started off again.

"Hey, watch where you're goin'!" Estel yelled after the fleeing figure, but instead of giving chase, he turned to Sapphire. "You okay?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. It just startled me. Oh, but look…" She pointed down at the ground by Estel's feet: a leather coin pouch stitched with a peculiar pattern of symbols lay on the packed, rocky earth. "He dropped something."

Estel bent and picked up the pouch. He weighed it in his hand, a slight scowl on his face as he examined it. He started to say something, moving to put the little pouch into his pocket, but then he stopped, chewing on the inside of his cheek. He held the pouch out and stared at it.

"We oughta…" he said at last, sounding very begrudging and more than a little pained, "we oughta go give it back to him."

Sapphire beamed at him and squeezed his hand.

Cen just looked stunned. "That…wow." He nodded down the street. "You'd better hurry, then, before he can get too far."

"Right…"

With a sigh, Estel turned and started after the figure. Sapphire tagged along just behind him, still holding his hand.

It did not take too much effort to find the figure again; his bright clothing made him fairly obvious. He was almost to the turnoff leading to the main gate when Estel and Sapphire caught up with him.

"Hey. Hey!" Estel hurried forward and caught the figure by the shoulder, stopping him and turning him, or possibly her, around. "You dropped this."

He held out the pouch. The figure, so well-shrouded that he made Rath look positively undressed, looked down at it, then reached out and took it.

"Thank you," he said. Unlike Rath, even his voice was indeterminate; whether this individual was male or female was anyone's guess. "I would've missed this."

Estel stared. "You speak Common!"

"I speak what you speak." The pouch disappeared into some fold of the near-blinding robes, while the figure watched Estel. At once, the figure's manners and posture changed; he stood exactly as Estel was standing and reflected each tiny movement with the exact same casualness. "I speak what everyone speaks. That's my job."

"Ah…" Estel glanced at Sapphire. "Well…okay." He looked back at the figure. "Listen, you're the first person we've seen here who can talk to us, er…" He trailed off.

"Call me…Gogo," the figure said, seeming to come up with this on the spot. His voice now took on Estel's inflections and accent as well. "So I guess you need some help, right? I mean, if nobody else can understand you. And, hey, it's the least I can do to pay you back for gettin' my money back to me."

Estel looked a bit unsettled now. "…Right."

"We need to find an inn," Sapphire said. "And we need to know where we can get some oxyale; that's why we came here."

Gogo turned to her, and his mannerisms changed again: now he perfectly mimicked Sapphire, right down to the look in her eyes. The change was startling.

"I don't really know about the oxyale," he said, copying her voice exactly. "But there is a very good inn just back up that main street. It's called the Wolf Lodge; the sign has a wolf's head painted on it, so you'll be able to tell which building it is."

Estel seemed to be suffering some kind of internal crisis. Sapphire, on the other hand, looked impressed.

"You're an excellent mimic!"

Gogo sketched a little bow.

"Do you think someone at that inn might be able to help us find some oxyale?" Sapphire asked.

"I should think so," Gogo replied. "It was a very nice place; I'm sure you'll be able to find what you're looking for there."

"We'll go look for it, then," Sapphire said. "Thank you very much for your help."

"And thank _you_ for returning my bag." Gogo's behavior changed again; this time he dropped back to the way he had acted when he had first spoken, apparently his normal behavior. "I'll need it at my next destination."

"Where are you going?"

"Oh, nowhere you've ever heard of. And now that I'm done with what I had to do here—"

"What'd you have to do?" Estel blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Just checkin' something," Gogo said, dropping into Estel's persona for a moment before switching back to his own. Estel, rattled, did not attempt to interrupt again as Gogo went on. "As I was saying, now that I'm done with my little chore here, I really must be going. Thank you again."

With that, Gogo turned and left. Estel and Sapphire stared after him, then turned to each other, Estel looking rather disturbed, Sapphire amused.

"That was creepy."

"It was brilliant! I've never seen such a good mimic before."

Off in the corner of their vision, there came a dark flicker. They turned just in time to see what looked like a black doorway disappearing down to a tiny pinprick which then winked out. Gogo was nowhere to be seen. Estel stared.

"And we're takin' his advice?" he said, glancing at Sapphire.

"Why not? That was just a Warp spell, and he seemed nice enough."

"Yeah, okay…"

The pair returned to Cen and Rath, still standing back at the intersection where Gogo had run into the group. Cen appeared to have recovered from his shock over Estel's newfound morals, and he waved to Estel and Sapphire as they approached.

"Did you get it back to him?"

Estel nodded. "Yeah, and he was the weirdest—"

"He was very grateful," Sapphire interrupted. "And he gave us some advice in return. He said there's an inn called the Wolf Lodge just up the street where we might be able to get some help."

Cen blinked in surprise. "Really? Hey, that's great! Let's go check it out."

The group started off up the street again, Cen in the lead. As they walked, Sapphire gave Estel's arm a warm squeeze.

"I'm very proud of you, Estel."

Estel cleared his throat and glanced away, looking both embarrassed and pleased.

"Thanks."

The Wolf Lodge, a large building with two wings spread out on either side of it, stood only a little way from where the companions had stopped. It sat at a distance from the street, obscured by the omnipresent growths of evergreens and thick moss; had the companions not received Gogo's recommendation, they might have walked right past it. Like all the other buildings, it had an overly pointed roof and thick log walls. Firelight shone through the deep-set windows on the lower floor. The sign pegged up above the door had the inn's name, written in the angular Gaian script, along with a rather harsh painting of a wolf's head, its jaws gaping. A lantern hung beside it.

The entryway felt wonderfully warm after the brisk outside air, and there was a general rustling as the companions pushed back hoods and let cloaks fall open. Light from the lamps affixed to the walls threw the heavy beams of the ceiling, carved with bold and intricate designs, into relief and made the rich woodwork gleam. A solidly-built woman sat behind a counter opposite the door, her thick blonde hair knotted up in braids.

Cen approached the counter, the other companions just behind him.

"Hello," he said. "We need to know—"

The woman held up a hand to cut him off. She said something—judging by the accompanying gesture, it was to the effect of 'wait here'—then she rose from her seat and left the entryway, going through a wide doorway into the common room to the companions' left. Cen sighed and turned around to lean back against the counter.

"That's going to get annoying really fast."

"Maybe she went to get someone who _does_ speak Common," Sapphire suggested.

"Yeah, I hope so." Cen looked at Rath, who was watching the doorway. "So, if it's not Common up here, what do people call it?"

"It is probably best you do not know," Rath said, sounding as though he was only half paying attention. "Most cultures here think your language sounds quite ridiculous, when they have heard of it at all, and they name it accordingly."

Cen did not quite know how to respond to this. He blinked a few times, then he shook his head and turned to watch the doorway as well. Estel, on the other hand, looked slightly insulted.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with how we talk!"

Rath winced a little.

"In general terms, no. The way you in particular speak, on the other hand…"

Estel rolled his eyes. "Cen, he's actin' like Idren again. Can I hit him?"

"No. Be nice."

Voices could be heard approaching from within the bustling common room. Though both spoke in Gaian, one of them had a pronounced accent and said the words haltingly. Cen and Sapphire blinked and looked at each other, but Estel and Rath continued to watch the doorway, Estel doing so with startling intensity. Sapphire put her hand on his shoulder and moved to look him in the face.

"Estel, are you all right?"

"Huh?" Estel shook his head and lifted one hand to rub his forehead. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just…no, never mind. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's just been a real weird day; guess it's kinda gettin' to me, y'know?"

"Oh. Well, if you say so…" Sapphire removed her hand from his shoulder, but she looked rather dubious as she continued to watch him.

The two approaching people stopped just out of sight around the corner and conversed briefly. The voice of the woman from behind the desk repeated something a few times, then fell silent. The second person then continued on and came into the entryway, revealing herself to be a slender woman with dark eyes. Her brown hair was pulled back in a bun instead of a braid, and some premature grey showed at her temples.

"Do you need some help?" she asked Cen with a small, obligatory smile.

Cen started to reply, but he broke off with a start as Estel gave a strangled noise of shock, his eyes wide. His knees half-buckled, and Sapphire caught him by the arm to help keep him upright.

"I knew it," he gasped, staring at the woman. "I knew it…"

Releasing him as he regained his balance, Sapphire felt his forehead, studying his face. "Estel, what's the matter?"

"Estel?" The woman stared at Estel in confusion, but then her eyes widened and the color started to go out of her face. She pressed her hand to her mouth.

Sapphire looked over at Cen, but he just put his finger to his lips and shook his head, a knowing and pleased look in his eyes. She kept silent.

Estel just kept his focus on the woman, suddenly oblivious to his companions.

"Mom," he said, and beside him Sapphire stifled a gasp. "I've been lookin' everywhere for you. No one thought I'd ever do it, but I did, I found you!" He gave a shaky laugh. "You're really here!"

The woman just continued to stare at Estel, her face chalk-white now. She drew a sharp breath, and when she did at last speak she sounded on the verge of tears, her voice muffled by her hand.

"You're… But, you can't be here. Bikke told me that he'd killed you…"

Estel laughed again, short and breathless. "Ah, come on, since when's that lyin' bastard ever been right about anything? Like he could get rid of me that easy."

Esme did not reply. Estel watched her, his expression glad and almost pleading, then she gave an abrupt sob, rushed over, and embraced him, clinging to him. Estel hugged her back just as tight.

"I knew it. I knew you were okay. I knew it…"

Sapphire stepped away, moving to stand beside Cen at the counter.

"How long…?"

"It's got to be almost seven years by now," Cen answered.

"Oh, my goodness…" Sapphire pressed her hand to her mouth, tearing up a little herself. "This…this is just—"

"Yeah, it is."

Standing off to the side, Rath said nothing, nor did he move to stand by his other companions. He just watched Estel and Esme, staring with startlingly wide eyes, his arms limp at his sides.

"I can't believe it." Esme shook her head, still holding Estel close, tears running down her face. "I can't believe you're here; I thought I'd lost you…"

"Come on," Estel said, his voice teary, but also glad. "It was just Bikke. No way he could've killed me."

"How…" Esme released Estel, holding him at arm's length and looking him in the face, her cheeks wet and her eyes red. "How did you…he told me what they did to you, how could you have…?"

Estel half-smiled. "Just lucky, I guess. I had some good friends lookin' out for me." He sobered, at least as much as he could. "What're you doin' up here, Mom?"

"After Bikke told me what him and his boys did to you, I just couldn't take any more. As soon as they were done with me for the night, I ran away. And there was that…that caravan camped outside the city, so I went to them and asked them to take me with them. This was their next stop, and it seemed like the farthest away I could get from that disgusting, murdering son of a bitch." Esme wiped her eyes, though the tears of relief and shock still fell. "If I'd known you were still alive…"

"I'm glad you didn't know," Estel said firmly. "'Cause this way, you finally got away from him, and I found you again anyway, so it's all okay."

Esme smiled, and this time the expression reached her eyes as well. "That's right. It's all okay. It's all okay." She laughed herself now, sounding breathless, and she reached up one hand and combed out Estel's hair with her fingers, studying his face with tear-filled eyes. "Look how grown-up you are. I almost didn't recognize you."

"Lots of stuff's happened." Estel grinned. "I can't wait to tell you everything. Oh." He blinked and looked around, suddenly remembering the other companions existed. "Oh, yeah, and you have to meet my friends!"

Cen straightened up from the counter as Estel led Esme over to him.

"This is Cen. After I left, he's the one who found me, and him and his family took me in to live with them. He's a really good warrior, and he tries to be a good influence on me, but it mostly doesn't work."

"But not through lack of effort," Cen said, smiling. He inclined his head to Esme. "It's great to be able to meet you, ma'am."

"Oh, don't do that!" Esme said, starting to laugh again. "I'm not used to being formal; just 'Esme' is fine." She hugged him, and judging by the relief on Cen's face, it was not as hard as Cen's own mother would have. "Thank you so much for taking care of him. I hated having to leave, but now that I know he got somewhere safe…"

"Hey, we were happy to help. He's a great kid."

"Ah, quit it, Cen, you're embarrassin' me," Estel said. He seemed unable to stop smiling, his eyes alight. He waited for Esme to release Cen, then he moved over to Sapphire. "This is Sapphire. She's a healer, so she keeps me from gettin' broken whenever we fight stuff, and has probably saved my life about a million times since we all started travelin' together." He smiled at Sapphire with a touch more affection than he had been prone to showing lately. "She's one of the best people I've ever met."

Sapphire went pink, but she did smile back. "Now _you're_ the one who's embarrassing people, Estel."

"I bet you deserve every good thing he's said," Esme said. She had watched the glance between the pair with great interest, and she almost glowed with pride as she hugged Sapphire as well. "Are you the one who helped him after what they did to him?"

"…No, I hadn't met him yet when that happened. I've tried to help him with a lot of other things since I have, though."

"Thank you." Esme released her. "And has he been behaving himself?"

"He's been a perfect gentleman," Sapphire said.

For the first time, Estel's buoyant expression faltered, and he glanced away.

"Saph…"

"Hush," Sapphire said. "Of course you have. When we were first traveling," she said, turning to Esme, "we had to go to Pravoka to meet someone, but Bikke was there making trouble. We went to confront him, and you should have seen what Estel did when those pirates got anywhere near me. He was so brave."

Esme beamed. "Good. He's such a good boy."

Estel's discomfort fled at once, and he looked absurdly pleased by this compliment. "It was a real big fight. Just us four against Bikke and his whole crew; you should've seen it. Oh, and wait'll I tell you what Cen's uncle did to Bikke after!"

"If it's either of the two things I think it should be," Esme said with a sudden, unpleasant smile, "then I know I'll like it."

"It is," Estel assured her. "But I'll tell you later."

There came the quiet sound of a throat being cleared. Estel winced.

"Ah, damn, almost forgot. Rath."

He turned and drew Esme over to the young mage. In the lamplight, Rath's eyes gleamed from beneath the brim of his hat, but his expression was more amiable than it had been in quite some time. He regarded Esme without suspicion or animosity.

"This is Rath," Estel said. "He's a wizard and mostly a pain in the ass, but he's really an okay guy, I guess. He's been teachin' me to do black magic, just like him, but we haven't got very far yet."

Rath raised an eyebrow at Estel's blunt description, but he still inclined his head to Esme. "It is an honor," he said, his voice quiet and almost pleasant. "Estel has spoken very highly of you."

Cen, Estel, and Sapphire exchanged stunned looks. Rath ignored them, and Esme just beamed over what he had said, her eyes going teary again.

"He always was sweet that way." Her expression became questioning. "And he said you're teaching him magic? I didn't know he could—"

"It is a recently acquired talent of his, but I will refrain from explaining the situation in full, as I am certain he would prefer to do so himself. But, yes—" Rath nodded. "—I have been teaching him. So far he has proven a very apt pupil."

Esme gave a pleased laugh, and the tears could be heard in her voice again. "Oh, I've missed so much. I can hardly believe it." She moved to hug Rath as well, but he took a quick step back and held out a forestalling hand.

"My apologies," he said, and the other companions stared at him again, "but I would prefer it if you did not do that. I am not much inclined toward such contact."

Esme stopped, looking a bit surprised, but then she just smiled and nodded.

"Whatever you want. I've had that kind of feeling myself sometimes." She looked around at the whole group, her eyes alight. "So why'd you all come up here? This place doesn't really get too many visitors from down south."

"We need to get some oxyale," Cen said, leaning back against the counter again. "It's for something we have to do with our…er, job." He shot a look at Estel and winked, and Estel grinned and winked back.

"Your job?" Esme looked at Estel. "What do you do?"

Estel looked like he could hardly contain himself, but he tried to affect an unconcerned, off-hand tone when he spoke. "Oh, it's really no big deal; we're just the Light Warriors, is all."

Though he started laughing, he did still manage to catch Esme as her knees almost buckled as well.

* * *

Estel spent the rest of the evening and a fair portion of the night relating to Esme every detail he could remember of the past seven years of his life.

Esme got the rest of the evening off from her duties at the inn, then she settled herself and the Light Warriors at a table in the common room, close to the roaring peat-fueled fire in the fireplace in the center of the room. She fetched drinks for everyone, having to do a bit of digging to find something non-alcoholic for Sapphire and Rath, then they all settled down and listened as Estel launched into his lengthy, rambling tale.

As the companions had heard before, Estel's storytelling style was very nonlinear; he did not relate things in chronological order, but rather in the order they connected to one another in his memory. With this jumping from point to point, it was difficult to keep track of what he was talking about; more than once Cen noted that Estel had told a particular story once or twice or three times already. Esme did not seem to mind the repetition, though; she listened with an expression of parental adoration, hanging on Estel's every word. At times, she seemed almost as involved in the telling as Estel was as she laughed, gasped, and exclaimed over the stories. It was a level of involvement that the others certainly did not remember seeing from Cen's parents back at Crescent Lake.

Midnight came and went, the common room emptied, and it became clear that Estel and Esme intended to remain up for quite some time yet. At last, Cen interrupted, explaining that, although they would not mind staying up to talk, they really should get some rest.

"Oh, right," Esme said, looking as though she had completely forgotten about this. "Of course, that's why I came out in the first place, wasn't it, to sign out rooms for all of you. Just a minute." She got to her feet and hurried back out to the counter in the entryway. She returned with a ledger, a charcoal pen, and a box of keys. "How many rooms will you need? Three?"

"Let's say four this time."

"Yeah, I actually kinda like gettin' to sleep without listenin' to Cen's snoring," Estel said with a cheeky sort of smile.

"I don't snore!" Cen protested.

Esme just laughed, made checks in four slots in the ledger, and dug out the needed room keys. She handed one to each companion.

"There you go. It'll be four hundred per week—four hundred regular Cornelia gil, I mean—for the lot, I think. I'll see if I can't get it cut back, though; there's no way I could let them charge you full price."

"Thank you, Esme," Sapphire said, looking surprised but pleased. "That's very kind of you."

"Oh, it's nothing. I'd try to get it for free for you if I could, but I don't think the owners would go for that." Esme laughed. "You go on up and get some sleep, and we can all talk more tomorrow."

With various bids of farewell and good-night, Cen, Sapphire, and Rath rose from their chairs and left the common room. They had only gone halfway across the entryway, however, heading for the stairs leading to the narrow upper floor, when Estel suddenly ran out of the common room as well and stopped them.

"Hey, wait just a sec."

Cen turned to look at him. "What's up, Estel?"

Estel just grinned. "Can you believe this? I mean…" He made a vague gesture in the air beside him, beaming as though he hardly dared to believe his good fortune. "What're the odds, y'know? I mean, I'd been startin' to think that something'd happened to her, but then we get out here…" He trailed off with a shrug.

Sapphire smiled. "It's great, Estel; we're very happy for you."

"Thanks." He gave another short exhalation of a laugh. "I almost thought I was seein' things or something. There'd been plenty of times before when I'd thought I'd seen or heard her, but didn't really." He shook his head, then looked around at the others, his eyes bright. "So what d'you think? She's great, isn't she?"

"She is," Sapphire said. "She _is_ great. I can see why you missed her so much."

"Yeah." Cen nodded his agreement. "It's really lucky we needed to come up here, isn't it?"

"Yeah… I actually wanted to talk to you guys about that." Estel's grin faded as a look of apprehension entered his eyes. He glanced around at the group, looking particularly at Rath. "Look, I know we gotta get on with the quest and everything, and I don't wanna hold us up, but…" He looked into the common room over his shoulder, then back at the others. "D'you…d'you think we could stay up here for a while? I mean, I guess it's not as big a deal as savin' the world, but…" He cast a worried look at them. "Is that okay?"

"Of course we can stay," Rath said at once. His tone was a blend of his recent, insistent one and an almost sentimental one the others could not recall ever hearing from him before. Cen and Sapphire gaped at him, but he went on without acknowledging them. "Something of this magnitude certainly deserves to have time spent to enjoy it, and this would also be a prime opportunity to attempt to recover somewhat more from what we have had to endure of late."

Estel's grin returned full-force. "Thanks. You have no idea, I mean, I really owe you one for this. Seriously."

He clapped Rath on the shoulder, making him stagger a little, then turned and rushed back into the common room to rejoin Esme.

Rath turned and strode up the stairs before either Cen or Sapphire could say anything to him.


	32. We Are A Happy Family

**Chapter 32: We Are A Happy Family**

The next morning dawned cold, with thick frost caked on the inn windows. Cen and Sapphire came downstairs to find, not surprisingly, Estel and Esme still sitting together and talking at the table by the fireplace in the common room. What came as more of a surprise, however, was that Rath sat with the pair as well, though reading rather than participating in the conversation. Sapphire, her braid hanging loose down her back, glanced at Cen, but he just shrugged before proceeding into the room.

"Wow, Estel, I don't think I've ever seen you get up this early without being dragged out of bed. I'm impressed."

"That he never retired likely aided that," Rath said, not looking up from his book as Cen and Sapphire walked over and sat down. "And do not bother speaking to either of them; they will not answer you."

"Will so," Estel said, frowning at Rath, then at Cen. "What were you sayin'?"

Cen made a valiant effort not to laugh. "Just that I don't think I've ever seen you up this early except when we make you."

Estel blinked and looked around. "It's morning? When'd that happen?"

"The same time it ever does," Rath said, eyes still on his reading.

Esme laughed, but then she broke off, swore, and slapped her hand to her forehead. "Oh, that means I have to get back to work."

"I'll come help," Estel said at once, hopping to his feet.

"You don't have to—"

"I want to. C'mon."

Smiling, Esme stood as well, and she and Estel made their way across the empty room to the doors leading to the kitchen. They resumed their conversation as they went.

"Oh, look at them," Sapphire said, beaming as she watched the pair leave. "That's so sweet."

Cen laughed. "Yeah, something like that." He leaned back in his chair. "What was the name of the guy who told you about this place? We really owe him one."

"His name was Gogo." Sapphire removed a few pins from her pocket and set them on the table, then she started twisting up her braid. "I wish we could find him to thank him again, but he warped away right after Estel and I spoke to him; he said he had some pressing business…somewhere."

Rath actually glanced up, a dubious look in his narrowed eyes, but then he shook his head and went back to his book.

"Oh." Cen considered this, then shrugged. "That's too bad."

Gales of laughter exploded from the kitchen. Sapphire started and turned, but Cen and Rath did not move; indeed, Cen looked as though he had almost expected an outburst. A few seconds later, Estel emerged from the kitchen, weaved his way over to the companions' table, and stood behind Cen, resting his folded arms atop Cen's head.

"Okay, so." He looked down. "I told Mom about how you cook, and she says that I'm right and that you should never go in a kitchen again as long as you live."

Rath and Sapphire looked amused and puzzled, respectively. Cen just fumed and slid his head out from under Estel's arms.

"It's not that bad! Quit telling people stuff like that!"

"Yeah, it's that bad."

"You only got sick _once_!" Cen rounded on Estel and swatted him away. "Don't you have anything better to be doing?"

Estel just darted out of the way.

"Yeah, sure. Just for that, _you're_ gettin' breakfast last."

He disappeared back into the kitchen. Sapphire watched him go, Rath cleared his throat and turned back to his book, and Cen slumped in his chair, looking a bit sulky.

"This is going to be a fun stop, I can tell already."

"Oh, undoubtedly," Rath said, sounding off-hand. "At least until it dawns upon Estel that we will need to leave and get on with our task rather sooner than later."

"Oh, dear…" Sapphire put her hand to her mouth, brow furrowed.

"Yeah…" Some of the sullenness leaving him, Cen drummed his knuckles on the tabletop, and the room briefly went silent except for that and the crackling of flames in the fireplace. "Well, we'll just have to deal with that when it happens. But, now that you mention it…" He glanced at Rath. "You sure said we could stay awful quick. Why—?"

Rath's eyes stopped moving across the pages of his book, and his posture went rigid. After only a short pause, he recovered and answered in his usual snide tone.

"Because Estel likely would have cut my throat in my sleep had I refused, and truth be told, I would in fact prefer to continue living for a little while longer."

Cen glanced over his shoulder at the kitchen door. "Oh, well. It'll be nice to have a break, anyway."

"If only a break from having unpleasantness flung at us," Rath said dryly. "We still have work to do while we are here."

"Right, right. The oxyale."

"And your and Estel's lessons," Sapphire put in.

"Oh, yeah. I'd almost forgotten about that."

"While Estel has forgotten entirely, I am certain." Rath settled back into his reading, and this time he wholly ignored the others as they continued to talk.

* * *

The next few days proceeded almost identically to one another. Rath spent most of his time reading, though he did appear to watch Estel and Esme out of the corner of his eye whenever they happened to be in the room. After that first morning, however, he made no further comments on the situation and generally went back to behaving more or less like his old self. The only exception to this was when he would interact with Esme, at which times he was almost excruciatingly polite. This puzzled everyone except Esme herself, who found it quite flattering.

Cen and Sapphire, meanwhile, went back to their magic lessons. It wasn't too long before Cen, like Estel, had built up enough of a reserve of magical energy to attempt using it. Also like Estel, however, he seemed unable to achieve the correct focus to produce any results. He just looked bitterly resigned as this became more and more clear, but Sapphire pointing out the same things she had to Estel helped his mood somewhat. They worked in the common room, in a corner which Esme would clear for them. The lessons took place mostly in the afternoon, after the lunch rush was over, but a number of patrons began lingering for a while after their meals, staying for the novelty of watching "the foreigners", and Cen's lessons in particular. Sapphire found the attention a little flustering, but Esme assured her that once everyone got used to the companions being there, they would stop staring quite so much.

"They were like that with me when I first got here too," she said, patting Sapphire on the arm. "Just ignore it."

"What _else_ were they like?" Estel asked, looking suddenly piqued. He sat backwards on a nearby chair.

"They left me alone," Esme said firmly, but then she smiled. "That's what I love about this place: I'm so much smaller than all the other women, the men think there's something wrong with me, so they don't bother me." She sighed in content.

Estel just continued to look annoyed. "That's a stupid reason; there's nothing wrong with you!"

"I don't really care if they think there is, Estel, just so long as they keep their hands off me." Esme gave Estel a placating little squeeze around the shoulders, then, with a smirk, dropped her wet washrag on his head, making him yelp. "Now come on, I still have tables to wipe down."

"Okay…" Estel pulled the rag off his head and rose to help.

Cen laughed, but Sapphire looked a little bothered. Still, she just shook her head and turned back to her work.

True to Rath's prediction, Estel himself appeared to have almost forgotten that the rest of the world existed; even his companions were lucky to receive any unprompted acknowledgement of their presence on a given day. He stayed completely fixated on Esme, accompanying her nearly everywhere, helping her with every slightest thing. If anyone wanted her for anything, they had to go through Estel to do it. If it even vaguely appeared that someone was being less than polite to her, only she herself could stop Estel flying into a temper over it. Indeed, his behavior became quite erratic in nearly every respect; he laughed with little provocation, overdramatized minor events, and showed other mercurial mood swings. This caused some concern in certain quarters.

One evening, about a week after the companions' arrival in Gaia, the four companions and Esme all occupied the busy common room. Esme made her way among the tables, taking orders and cleaning up, while Estel tagged along behind her like an over-protective shadow. There had been two minor altercations that night already, and Esme had needed to have words with him about it. Rath sat at his usual table by the fireplace, reading and ignoring everyone, while Cen and Sapphire had just finished cleaning up from their magic lessons.

Sapphire watched Estel as she picked at her dinner. He looked rather hawkish as he hovered around Esme, watching everyone she spoke to in an attempt to detect anything even remotely like disrespect. After a while of observing this, Sapphire got to her feet and walked over to Rath's table. She sat down across from him; absorbed in his book, he did not appear to notice her. Sapphire leaned in toward him.

"May I talk to you for a moment?"

Rath finished the line he was reading, then looked up. Sapphire went on.

"I want you to restart your lessons with Estel."

"Oh? Is there a particular reason for that request?"

Sapphire sighed and looked over at Estel and Esme; they were wiping clean a few recently vacated tables.

"He's been acting strangely. Well, I mean, it seems like how he normally is, but it's all just…bigger. Do you understand what I mean?"

Rath nodded. "Go on."

"I think it's because he's not getting enough rest. Or, I don't think he is, anyway. I mean, I know it's important for him to learn for our quest, but…it might also be the only way to make him get some sleep."

"I understand your theory," Rath said. "He has, however, received a massive emotional blow, albeit a positive one. That is just as likely as a lack of sleep to influence his behavior in ways we have not yet seen from him."

"I know, but finally sleeping a decent amount wouldn't hurt."

Rath held up a placating hand. "I was merely proposing a secondary theory. As it happens, I had already planned to reinstate Estel's instruction tomorrow."

"Oh, good." Sapphire fell silent, listening to the low din of the inn's patrons around them. After a while, she spoke up again. "How are you going to talk him into it? He was so frustrated with the lessons before, and I don't think he'll really want to do anything here except…"

She trailed off as Rath's eyes narrowed in what could only be a smirk.

"Come now, Sapphire. Must I truly explain the leverage I currently have at my disposal? Even you must be able to see it."

Sapphire started to answer, but then frowned.

"What do you mean, 'even me'?"

Rath shrugged. "You have proven remarkably obtuse in the past. And do not grow angry with me because of that statement; you know I am correct."

Sapphire fumed, then she flounced a little in her chair and folded her arms. She frowned at the blazing fire beside them.

"Oh, fine," she said at last, sounding rather huffy. "Just because you're right doesn't mean you have to say it out loud, though." She hesitated, then went on. "You know, you were doing so much better at getting along with the rest of us for a while. Why can't you keep being like that?"

She looked back at Rath, but he had already returned to his book.

* * *

Rath was as good as his word. The very next morning, he cornered Estel near the fireplace and insisted that they resume their lessons. Estel, of course, protested.

"But I don't wanna, Rath. I was gonna help Mom with—"

"Estel…" Esme started, sounding firm, but Rath interrupted.

"No, that is quite all right." He looked at Estel with an expression of complete impassivity. "I had merely assumed you would wish to make further progress so you could demonstrate your new abilities for your mother. Apparently, I was incorrect." He made a permissive sort of gesture. "Do as you like." He sat down at his usual table, opened up the book he had brought down with him, and started to read.

Estel gaped; it was as though this prospect had never even occurred to him. He opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"So why the hell're you just sittin' there?" he blurted out at last, looking aghast at Rath's audacity. "Let's get to work!"

With an amused flicker in his eyes, Rath deliberately closed his book.

"Let's." He gestured toward the entryway. "Go retrieve something to use as a target."

Estel bolted from the room.

As soon as he was gone, Esme and Cen burst out laughing.

"Nice job!" Esme said, applauding.

Rath inclined his head. "One simply must have a full understanding of the resources at one's disposal," he said, the humility in his tone quite contradicted by the smugness in his expression.

"Or you could go ahead and say what you're thinking, and point out that you're really just that good." Esme smirked, but then the expression softened to a friendly smile. "Really, though, thank you. It's wonderful to have him back, but I felt bad about keeping him from the learning he needed to be doing. I was even going to ask him about it today."

"I am glad to have saved you the trouble."

Just then, Estel returned, pillow in hand. He ran over and tossed it on a table in the corner Cen and Sapphire occupied during their lessons, then he darted back to Rath.

"Okay, so let's get goin'."

Rath obligingly rose and allowed Estel to haul him across the unusually empty room. Esme smiled after them.

"That was really clever."

"Heh." Cen half-smiled. "Yeah, that's our Rath."

"I don't know why Estel keeps calling him a pain in the ass. I really don't see it."

"Er." Cen glanced at Sapphire, who just gave a slightly uncomfortable shrug. "That's…well, they haven't seen eye to eye on some things while we've been traveling, so maybe that's why."

"I guess so."

Esme sat and chatted with Cen and Sapphire for a few minutes longer before leaving to go about her work in the kitchen. Rath and Estel had picked up right where they had left off in their training, though with a marked change to Estel's attitude: wanting to show off for his mother proved to be sufficient motivation to make him soldier on in spite of the continued lack of results. Rath watched and instructed calmly, though he continued to radiate smugness. Cen and Sapphire opted not to join in with the training session, and so just sat and watched.

"Do you think he's getting closer to doing it right?" Cen asked after a while. "I know it's been a while, but…"

"Hm." Sapphire thought about this as she watched yet another unsuccessful attempt by Estel to knock the pillow from its resting place on the table. "Well, I really can't judge that here. I mean, this situation is so different, I couldn't really say." She paused, then added, "Him being in a better mood about trying should help, though."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

A lull fell over the table. After another failed try, Rath started in on his usual lecture about focus, which Estel endured without complaint this time. Sapphire listened to some of this, then she frowned and turned to Cen.

"I have a question."

"Yeah? What's up?"

"When we first got here, Esme said something about Bikke telling her that…Estel was dead. The way Estel answered, it must have been something that actually happened instead of just Bikke lying again, but I don't ever remember either of you talking about that. What happened?"

"Ah. That. Well, you have heard a little about it, I think, but yeah, not the whole story." Cen shifted around in his chair so he faced Sapphire more directly. "It was a few years ago. Us and Elend were in Pravoka, and by bad luck, Bikke was too. We were out at a pub, and Estel caught sight of some of Bikke's crew getting after this girl that didn't want anything to do with them, and, well, you know how he gets about stuff like that."

Sapphire smiled a little in spite of herself and nodded. Cen went on.

"Anyway, he told them to shove off, and with all of Elend's crew there to back him up, there wasn't a lot they could do to him. Completely different story once he stepped out back by himself for a minute, though. The guys from the pub, and two of their buddies, jumped him and dragged him off, with Bikke right there as well to point and laugh. But Estel put up a fight and got loose, and of course went right for Bikke." He paused. "Remember how, in the Citadel, Bikke didn't have an eyepatch, but he did when we fought his guys in Pravoka?"

"Yes…" Sapphire said slowly, then she stopped, eyes widening. "Estel did that?"

Cen nodded. "Right in one. And you can just imagine how good that went over with Bikke. He told his men that he didn't want Estel to see the light of another day, then let them go wild."

Sapphire cringed, her hands going to her mouth. "That—"

"Yeah. Lucky for Estel, when he didn't come back from his step outside right away, Elend knew something was up and got people out looking for him. When Vin found where they had dumped him, he was kind of on the shady side of dead, and we only just got him to a cleric in time."

Sapphire somehow looked relieved and horrified at the same time.

"That _is_ really lucky. But…ug, that's so horrible that he got in that state at all!" She looked over at Estel, making another attempt on the pillow. "I dislike Bikke more and more every time I hear about all these things he's done."

Cen gave a dry chuckle. "Welcome to the club."

"Anyone in their right mind would be in that club. …Oh!" Sapphire turned to Cen with a look of realization. "So is that why Bikke looked so surprised to see Estel when we confronted him in Pravoka? He hadn't known that Estel survived?"

Cen thought about this for a minute, then nodded.

"You know, I bet that's it. And then he covered it up by blustering. Yeah, that makes sense." He laughed. "Now I wish I could've seen what was going through his head right then. He probably thought Estel had come back from the dead to kick his ass."

Sapphire giggled. "I don't think that's the way he expected his day to end."

"Definitely not."

"But he certainly deserved it."

"No argument there. You know…" Cen paused, looking at Sapphire rather thoughtfully. "…I think this is the first time I've seen you look _happy_ over horrible violence. It's kind of weird."

Sapphire looked down at the table, her expression one of polite embarrassment.

"I, um…I suppose Estel's attitude has been rubbing off on me a bit."

"Just don't get too carried away with that," Cen said, feigning sternness. "Having one Estel on the team is plenty. Two would just be asking for trouble. _More_ trouble," he corrected.

"Yes, I was about to say that we already have plenty of that."

"I—"

The conversation broke off as a minor commotion came from the corner of the room: a subsonic _whump_, Estel shouting in alarm and surprise, and a chair shooting across the floor and crashing into the thick log wall. Cen and Sapphire both looked over, startled, to see Estel staring at his hand in shock.

A grin crept onto Cen's face. "Hey, he finally got it!"

Sapphire beamed in delight and applauded, though Estel was quite lost in his own amazement and did not acknowledge it. Meanwhile, Rath walked over and examined the wreckage of the chair with absolute calmness.

"Very well executed," he said at last, deadpan. "Though perhaps you should have adjusted your aim slightly first."

Estel sputtered incoherently, while Cen laughed.

"Understatement much, Rath?"

Rath gave him a deceptively innocent 'who, me?' look, earning another laugh from Cen in addition to a giggle from Sapphire. He then turned back to Estel, who was still gaping at his hand.

"I fail to understand your astonishment. Aside from the impromptu change of target, the result you just produced is precisely what we were hoping for. Surely you are not actually surprised that you finally succeeded?"

"No… That just…er…"

"You are the picture of eloquence, Estel."

"…It felt _weird_."

"Is that all? I am certain you have experienced far more peculiar sensations than this one. Do not make this sort of post-casting gaping a habit."

"What in the world was that racket?" The door to the kitchen opened and a frowning Esme stuck her head out. "You four aren't breaking the place, are you?"

"Only one small portion of it," Rath replied in a continued show of his rare sense of humor. "I assure you, however, it was in pursuit of a worthy cause."

"…All right, what did you do?"

Esme crossed the common room to Rath and Estel's corner. She took in her son's wide-eyed alarm, then the sight of the broken chair, and she gave him a stern look.

"Now really, Estel, you didn't have to—"

"It was merely the result of a miscalculation," Rath corrected. "A slight alteration of aim will prevent such things from happening in the future. For example…" He turned and waved a permissive hand at Estel. "If you would like to demonstrate on your real target?"

It took a minute for this to get through to Estel. "Huh? …Oh. Oh! Yeah, right! Look at this, Mom!"

He took very careful aim at the pillow, still sitting undisturbed on the table. There was a pause, then another subsonic concussion, and the pillow shot through the air as though it had been punched. It hit the wall, then flopped down beside the broken chair. Estel turned to Esme, grinning.

"I got it to work! Great, huh?"

Esme looked quite beside herself, and she seized Estel in a hug.

"It's _wonderful_! Oh, Estel, I'm so proud of you!"

Estel glowed with pride. Cen watched the display with appropriate brotherly amusement, while Sapphire beamed. For half a second, it even appeared that Rath smiled behind his concealing collar and hat.

He then, of course, proceeded to break up the moment.

"We do have more work to be doing."

"Oh. Yes, of course." Esme released Estel and dashed away a few tears. "This is just the start of everything, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"You can stay and watch," Estel suggested in a tone that implied he thought this was the best idea in the world.

Esme smiled and ruffled his hair. "I'd love to. But it looks like I've got some work to do now too." She turned to face the broken chair, her hands on her hips. "This won't do at all. I'll have to take it to the carpenter and have it fixed."

Estel abruptly looked shame-faced. "Sorry about that…"

"It's all right, sweetheart. I know you didn't mean to."

"Do you want some help with that chair?" Cen asked, getting to his feet. "It'd be kind of tough for you to carry it by yourself with the mess it's in."

"Sure," Esme replied, smiling. "That's very nice of you."

"Hey, a knight is supposed to be chivalrous, isn't he?" Cen crossed the room and started gathering up the pieces of the chair, then he paused, looked back at Esme, and added, "Of course, I would've helped anyway."

Esme laughed. "I knew you'd say that."

"I'll come along and help too," Sapphire said, already on her feet. "It would be nice to get out and see some more of the town."

The three departed shortly, leaving Estel and Rath alone to their work. Now that he had at last succeeded in this one step, Estel had no trouble performing it again and again. Rath occasionally paused Estel's practice in order to give suggestions or instructions, but otherwise he just let Estel carry on as he would, provided he did not cause any more furniture casualties.

Before too long, the inevitable consequences of magic use set in, and Estel's eyelids began to droop. He lifted his hand blast the pillow again, but then he lowered it and yawned.

"Can we be done for today?" he asked, sitting down at a nearby table with a thump. "I don't think I can work on this anymore…"

Rath nodded. "I do not see why not. You have made a fair amount of progress, and your effort has been commendable. Perhaps you will perform even better tomorrow, once you have had some rest."

It seemed to strike Estel just then that he was falling asleep. He made a valiant attempt to protest this or at least look annoyed about it, but the long morning of practice on top of everything else had already taken its toll: his head drooped forward to rest on his arms, and within seconds he was fast asleep.

Rath watched him for a moment, looking satisfied that his plan had worked so well. He then picked up his book, sat down at the table on which the pillow lay, and began to read. After a minute or two, however, he looked back over at Estel. An odd expression came into his golden eyes, rather far away and nostalgic. He said something quietly in Onracean, then shook his head and turned back to his book.

Cen, Sapphire, and Esme returned after a little more than an hour. After hanging up their cloaks and coats in the entryway, Cen and Sapphire went upstairs, bearing a few parcels, while Esme came into the common room to check on her son. She looked surprised to find him dozing at the table, and she cast a curious glance at Rath.

"Something you did?"

Rath shook his head, not looking up from his book. "No. He merely wore himself out. Performing magic is not as effortless as many seem to think."

"Oh." Esme looked at Estel again, now with a tender, maternal expression on her face. "That's okay, then. You know, I don't think he's hardly slept at all since you all got here. A little rest will be good for him."

"The same thought occurred to me."

"You know," Esme said quietly after a moment, "I used to wonder if Estel looked or acted like his dad at all. It wasn't like I could really know, but it was something I thought about a lot."

Rath looked up from his book, his expression pointedly blank.

"From what I have seen, I would say he strongly favors you in both respects. Though, of course, I have even less knowledge of the details than you do, so I am hardly qualified to judge."

"Don't give me that." Esme glanced at him and smiled. "You're so sharp you could probably tell our whole life stories just by looking at us."

"You are rather overestimating me."

"I don't think so. Estel told me all about what happened with you and Cen's dad; you figured him out like _that_." She snapped her fingers.

"That does not mean I am capable of assessing paternity with a mere glance," Rath pointed out.

"Oh, I didn't think you could," Esme said, shrugging. "I was just thinking out loud. We all do that sometimes, I guess." She paused, frowning slightly. "Well, except you. It seems to me that you keep a lot of things to yourself."

"…Did Estel tell you that as well?" Rath asked, tension creeping into his voice.

"Noticed it on my own, actually."

"I see."

After a pause, Rath shut his book and got to his feet. He left the book where it lay on the tabletop, though, instead moving toward the slumbering Estel.

"Some different sleeping arrangements are called for, I think."

With a grunt of effort, he pulled Estel up from the chair—Estel did not wake in the slightest—and secured one of Estel's arms around his shoulders. He began to half-drag, half-carry his companion toward the entryway; before he had gone more than a few steps, Esme moved to assist him, taking Estel's other side. Rath cast a rare look of gratitude at her.

"Thank you."

Esme smiled. "Not a problem."

The pair supported Estel out of the common room and across the entryway. As they started up the stairs, a rather precarious endeavor, Esme looked over at Rath again.

"Listen, Rath. I don't know how much this'll mean to you, but I want to thank you for what you've been doing. Estel swears by how cranky you are, but you don't seem like that to me. I can tell you've helped him, and that means a lot to me. Thanks."

Rath did not answer right away, by all appearances just keeping his concentration on safely maneuvering the stairs.

"I believe," he said at last, slowly, "such accolades would be better given to Cen or Sapphire; they are far closer to Estel than I. I would also like to point out that Estel's assessment of me is, on the whole, correct."

Esme shook her head. "Not from what I've seen. And you deserve just as much thanks as Cen and Sapphire do. Maybe you just don't hear it enough, that's all."

"If you insist." Rath shifted slightly as they stepped onto the upstairs landing, trying to better support Estel's limp weight. "Though I think my assistance is too small a recompense to deserve any sort of thanks."

"Recompense?" Esme said, frowning in confusion. "What's that mean?"

Rath came to a halt, his eyes widening slightly, but then he just looked around to help himself recall where Estel's room was located.

"It means a service rendered," he said as he started the awkward little group onward again. "Comparatively speaking, I have done nothing extraordinary with regard to my interaction with Estel. I am flattered by your gratitude, but I feel you are making a great deal out of something very small."

Esme chuckled. "You really need to learn how to take a compliment." They reached the door of Estel's room, and Esme nudged it open with her hip. "Now, let's try this again. When I say, 'you're wonderful for helping Estel out like you have,' you say, 'why thank you, it was my pleasure.'"

They sidled into the room and carefully deposited Estel on his bed. Esme pulled the quilt over him, then turned to Rath, her hands on her hips.

"Ready?"

Rath just raised an eyebrow at Esme, and it almost looked like he was smiling a little behind his collar.

"You and your son really are a great deal alike."

"Thanks, but I asked if you're ready to try being complimented again."

"…Very well."

Esme put on a winning smile that lit up her slender face. "Rath, you're really wonderful for helping Estel like you have."

Rath inclined his head and seemed to be rather amused against his better judgment. "Thank you, Esme; it was my pleasure."

"There, see?" Esme patted Rath on the shoulder. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"No. I still doubt I shall ever get used to it, however."

Esme laughed. "Fair enough!" She led the way out of Estel's room, Rath just a step or so behind her. She looked back over her shoulder at him. "I need to get things set up for the noon rush. Want to lend a hand?"

"After all the praises you have heaped on me, it would be quite hypocritical of me _not_ to help."

Esme nodded in approval, and the pair made their way back to the common room.


	33. Faerie Ales

**Chapter 33: Faerie Ales**

The weather took a downturn over the next week. The biting chill in the air became even more penetrating, and a steady wind began to sweep down from the mountains to the north. A heavy blanket of clouds settled over the valley, and one morning, the companions woke to find Gaia covered in a deep mantle of smooth white snow.

Rather than dampening the inflow of customers, the storm actually improved business: the bar and common room were more crowded than ever. As the most coveted seats in the common room were those directly adjacent to the peat fire, it was only by a great deal of luck and Cen waking up earlier than usual that the companions managed to secure their usual table right beside the fireplace. Cen and Sapphire sat and chatted over their breakfast, mostly discussing their magic lessons, while Rath sat on the opposite side of the table from them, reading and generally ignoring everything else in the room. Estel, as usual, tagged along after Esme and helped her as she did her work.

After a while, Cen and Sapphire's casual banter trailed off. With a glance first at Rath, then at each other, they both turned to regard their silent companion.

"Rath?"

He continued to ignore them, but only long enough to mark his place in his book. He then looked up with visible indifference.

"Yes?"

"We need to talk," Cen said.

"I surmised as much. Concerning what?"

"Cen and I have been talking," Sapphire said, "and, well…we were thinking that it's time to start getting on with the quest. Not leaving yet, but doing things like getting the oxyale. I know we promised Estel we could stay for a while, but…"

"We need to keep going," Cen finished. "Taking a break is nice, but we still need to be doing _something_. We can't stay here forever, even if we do want to."

Rath slowly set his book on the table, and then leaned forward to rest his elbows beside it, steepling his fingers in front of his face.

"We will need to speak with Esme," he said at last. "Even if she does not know precisely where we can obtain the oxyale, she will at least be capable of asking others for the information on our behalf."

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, that's what we were thinking too."

"Let's just hope it's not something that you can only get in the summer," Cen said dryly, half-joking. "Just sitting around while we have this huge thing to be doing is kind of driving me crazy; I don't think I could stand months of it."

"How's everything going over here?" Esme squeezed between two crowded nearby tables and approached the companions, Estel right behind her. "Need anything else?"

"We're fine, thank you," Sapphire said, smiling a bit.

"We do need to ask you about something, though," Cen added.

"Oh? What's up?"

"Do you know where we can get some oxyale? We need it for where we're going next, but we only know that the stuff comes from here in general. Other than that…"

Cen trailed off with a shrug. Behind Esme, Estel kept shooting frantic little looks at the others. Sapphire tried to look reassuring, but Cen and Rath both ignored him, keeping their attention on Esme instead.

"Oxyale?" Esme frowned, thinking, then she nodded. "Oh, right, that stuff. That's no trouble to get; it comes from this little spring up in a cave in the foothills. You just gotta go up there and talk to Rhea—"

A few voices across the room shouted out, calling for Esme. She yelled something in reply, then turned back to the companions.

"I'll tell you what," she said, starting to edge in the direction of the summons. "We'll make a day of it tomorrow. I'll get the day off, and we'll all go up to the spring. And we can hit the caravan while we're at it; everyone's been buzzing about how it showed up just as the storm cleared. It'll be fun."

She grinned, then bustled off. Estel started to follow her, but then he paused, frowning at Cen and the others.

"We can't yet," he said flatly, a sullen look in his eyes.

"I'm not saying we need to leave," Cen said with slight exasperation. "We're just going to take care of this one thing, okay?"

Estel gave Cen a suspicious glare, then hurried through the crowd after Esme.

Cen sighed. "Well, at least he's not flying off the handle like he was before he started sleeping again."

Sapphire nodded in agreement; Rath had continued his lessons with Estel and always made a point of pressing them each evening until the resulting drain of magic forced Estel to sleep. Estel had complained about this at first, but had finally relented, both by making peace with the fact that he did need the sleep, and by deciding that the improved opportunities to show off for Esme outweighed the lost time at night. The others were grateful for this because of his steadier moods if nothing else.

"Will he…" Sapphire hesitated. "Is he going to be all right? When it's time to leave, I mean?"

Cen did not answer at once. Rath just leaned back in his chair and picked up his book to resume reading.

"I don't know," Cen said at last. "We'll just have to wait and see, I guess."

Sapphire sighed, looking a bit downcast, then returned her attention to her food.

* * *

The next day dawned just as cold as the previous. As soon as they had finished breakfast, Esme and the four Light Warriors bundled up against the piercing chill and set out from the Wolf Lodge toward the city gate. Their first destination, the newly arrived caravan, lay just to the south, close to the walls in order to take advantage of the windbreak they provided from the northerly gusts. The double train of vividly-colored wagons, tents, and pavilions stood out in the stark white surroundings, a vibrant brushstroke of hues against the gleaming snow. A steady stream of people made their way from the city to this eye-catching nomadic marketplace, and the whole affair had the air of some kind of festival.

The heavy snow around the caravan had already been stamped down by many passing feet. The Light Warriors and Esme made their way along the two rows of tents and wagons, bombarded on all sides by the pleasant bustle and noise. The merchants, their enveloping robes a rich cream color in contrast to their bright booths, called out their wares to the shifting crowds in heavily-accented Gaian. Goods from all over the world stood available for purchase: mead and wine from Crescent, jewelry and weapons from Elfheim, textiles from Cornelia, and innumerable other things, some of which the companions had never seen before. Nearly overpowering scents of incense and spices hung heavy in the icy air around some tents.

As usual, Rath slouched down as though trying to disappear as the group navigated the crowds. Cen looked around with some interest, but on the whole had the aura common to most men who get dragged along on a shopping trip. Estel mostly seemed to be trying to keep his inclination toward pick-pocketing in check; all recent progress aside, this looked to be quite a struggle for him, and likely only Sapphire's hand clasping his own really gave him the needed boost of willpower. Esme and Sapphire, meanwhile, appeared to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, wandering from vendor to vendor and chatting and exclaiming over the various items available for sale.

"Why did we decide to come here?" Rath said, cringing aside to avoid a large group of fur-clad Gaians coming from the opposite direction.

Cen shrugged. "Esme thought it would be fun. Don't worry, we'll go get the oxyale before too long."

"That is _not_ why I am complaining," Rath muttered under his breath.

Cen either did not hear this or thought it best to pretend he did not, and so did not reply. He just took a look around and nodded in the direction that Esme, Sapphire, and Estel had now gone.

"We ought to keep up; don't want to get separated and lost in this mess, right?"

Rath said nothing, but he did follow Cen on the new course through the throng.

Esme had spotted some kind of specialty vendor; the merchant's wares seemed highly unusual, and the gathering of buyers there was smaller, indicating higher prices for the strange goods. The merchant did not look too bothered about his lack of customers; judging by the number of gold accessories adorning his hands and robes, he could afford the dearth of business. Esme could not possibly have had any intention of actually shopping there, but the items for sale deserved attention. She examined what looked like a unicorn horn, long and iridescent white, while Sapphire gave a surprised shout to see a display of elixirs and other rare medicines. Estel stuck his free hand in a pocket of his coat, and the obvious gesture made Cen chuckle.

"I sure hope she appreciates this. It's probably almost killing him."

Rath did not reply. Cen just went on, changing the subject.

"So what are we going to have to do with this oxyale stuff, anyway?"

"When it is time to descend to the Shrine, we will drink the oxyale; it will grant us the ability to breathe underwater. The exact process by which it does this is fairly complicated."

"Then I don't need to know what it is," Cen said with some of his usual self-deprication. "Just so long as it works."

Rath made a quiet, dismissive noise, too soft to be heard above the babble of the surrounding crowds. Before he or Cen could say anything further, however, there came a slight disturbance from the booth at which their companions stood. The pair moved forward to see what was happening.

An assistant to the merchant had just returned to the tent. The newly-arrived man held a narrow-necked glass bottle, etched with bold, flowing designs. Inside this bottle bobbed a soft pink light. The assistant was speaking to the merchant, apparently about this item, at the back of the tent.

And Esme looked absolutely outraged.

"Do you see that? _Do you see that_?!"

"What is it?" Estel asked at once, jumping to the alert.

"That!" Esme jabbed a finger at the bottle. "Hey!" she yelled at the merchants. "What're you doing? Let her out of that!"

The merchants ignored her. Esme fumed, a demeanor that made her look very Estel-ish, and looked ready to climb over the display counter and into the tent to make a more direct demand. Rath came forward and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Perhaps you could explain your irritation."

Esme just continued glaring into the tent as she replied.

"That's Rhea in there! They've kidnapped her! We've gotta do something!" She finally turned away, fixing Rath with a determined stare. "Make them let her go!"

Rath gave no argument to this. He just turned toward the tent and addressed the two merchants, but not in Common; instead, he spoke a strange language—not Onracean, but something else, and he spoke it nearly as well as he spoke his other languages. The merchants looked over in surprise, then the chief owner stepped forward, leaving his colleague to put the bottle away somewhere. He answered Rath in the same rather clipped-sounding language, and the exchange went back and forth for a minute. At last, Rath turned to Esme and the others and switched back to Common.

"He has informed me that they purchased the faerie from a stranger to the city; he was the one to capture her, not they. He also said they shall be holding her to sell to a particular patron of theirs, who they are sure will pay a handsome amount for her."

"They're not selling her to anyone!" Esme snapped. "She belongs here! She's part of this place!"

"I realize that," Rath said calmly. "And I assure you, I shall do what I can to change their minds on the matter." He turned back to the merchant, and the two resumed their discussion.

"That's horrible," Sapphire said, looking nearly as upset as Esme. "How can anyone think they can buy and sell someone like that?"

"You'd be surprised," Esme said flatly, folding her arms across her chest.

"Everything's got a price," Cen said in a surprisingly sage tone. "Elend's crew taught me and Estel a lot about that kind of stuff."

Estel nodded his agreement, though he did not look particularly happy about the situation either.

The exchange between Rath and the merchant began to get a bit heated: Rath's voice rose, and both he and the merchant gesticulated forcefully as they debated and haggled. Rath paused to take a deep breath, then seemed to change tactics; he said something in a much calmer tone, and the merchant perked up, pressing along whatever line of bargaining Rath had just brought up. Esme and the other watched, both intrigued and anxious, and even a small cluster of Gaians paused in their shopping to watch. After another couple of minutes, the pair came to an agreement: the merchant gave a small bow and said something, which Rath then repeated back to him. The merchant then turned and went to the back of the tent to speak to his colleague, and Rath turned to his companions as the watching crowd dispersed.

"We have come to an arrangement."

"Yeah, we figured," Cen said. "So what's going on?"

"He will give Rhea to us in exchange for ten thousand gil, or the equivalent thereof in gold and silver, and the staff and gauntlet we took from the Citadel."

"_What_?!" Estel yelled, so loud and sudden that it made Sapphire jump. "Why? No! That's highway robbery, we're not gonna pay all that—!"

"I shall," Rath interrupted, a bit of an edge to his voice, "forgo the obvious retort regarding _you_ accusing someone else of thievery. Instead, I will point out that we may either pay this, or find a way to earn the merchant's original _eighty thousand gil_ asking price." He paused to let this sink in—Estel looked ready to start hyperventilating—then went on. "He named that as far enough above what his prospective client would likely pay to make the exchange worth his while. Fortunately for us, spell-infused weaponry is extremely rare, and ours piqued his interest."

Cen gave a half-relieved, half-astonished exhalation. "Yeah, that's really lucky. Way to talk him down, Rath."

"That was wonderful," Sapphire said with a nod and a smile. "It's really nice of you to do so much to help that poor faerie."

Rath gave her a dull look from beneath the brim of his hat. "Do not think I am doing this to be philanthropic. Yesterday, Esme mentioned this Rhea in connection with the oxyale, in a way that led me to assume her presence or assistance is necessary for us to obtain it. I would simply like for us to be able to continue on our quest at some point."

Sapphire wilted a bit, and she and Estel exchanged a look. Cen, on the other hand, looked unbothered, while Esme gave Rath a knowing smile.

"Sure," she said. "Yeah, that's it. Well, thanks anyway."

Rath did not reply to this. He just gestured to Cen, then to Estel.

"I believe you two have some things to collect from the _Phaëton_."

* * *

It took over two hours for Cen and Estel to return with the needed items; the deep snow made the trek to and from the airship quite difficult, even with the snowshoes Esme let them borrow from the Wolf Lodge. Cen bore the items and money in a large bag he had scrounged from somewhere in the hold, while Estel walked empty-handed, apparently too horror-struck by the idea of giving so many valuables away like this to actually lend a hand. They met up with Esme at the city gates, then hurried to rejoin Sapphire and Rath at the merchant's booth.

"Okay," Cen said, sounding a bit out of breath. He unslung the bag from over his shoulder, dropping it onto the packed snow. "I think we've got enough. Unless the guy's changed his mind about the deal."

Rath shook his head, and Cen sighed in relief.

"Good."

The payment changed hands, and then the companions had to wait yet longer as the merchant inspected every item and coin in minute detail to make sure they were authentic, not junk metal or painted wood. Esme and the Light Warriors waited and watched him with varying degrees of anxiety. Finally, the merchant appeared to be satisfied; he gave the payment to his colleague, who spirited it off into the trunks hidden in the shade at the back of the tent. He then retrieved the glass bottle, pink ball of light quivering within, and passed it across the display counter to Rath. With some comment in the man's language, Rath took it and at once began to march out of the marketplace. The others hurried after him.

Esme, the closest behind Rath, increased her pace until she was level with him.

"Thanks, Rath."

Rath's reply only came with effort. "…You're welcome."

They waited until they could get inside the city and off the main road before they stopped, wanting to get out of eyesight of the crowds. As soon as they did, taking refuge down a snowdrift-clogged alley, Rath yanked the stopper from the bottle and held the opening away from him. The pink light drifted up the neck of the bottle and bobbed for a moment just outside the mouth. The instant that it sensed it was safe from being crammed back into its prison, the light flew off into the air and straight northward with astonishing speed.

Estel looked rather forlorn as he watched the light zoom off.

"That's the fastest I've ever seen money get away…"

"It will be worth the cost," Rath said. "In fact, that man already stands massively within our debt." He stuck the cork back in the bottle, then handed it to Esme before starting out of the alleyway. "Come. We must follow her."

They made their way through the city and up the slopes of the foothills onto which it climbed. The city wall had another, smaller gate here at the back, and it appeared to have been left open for a long time; the plant life that engulfed the front wall had done the same here, and it had grown over the gates as they lay back against the thick log walls on either side of the opening. Beyond lay a narrow, meandering path, mostly clear of snow and bordered by a dense growth of pines and undergrowth. Attempts by Cen to leave this path and cut through the forest proved futile; the plants resisted all efforts to push them aside or cut them.

"She's done a lot to protect this place," Sapphire said quietly, looking around.

"How'd someone get back here to kidnap her if she's got it so people can't cut in or out?" Estel asked. He had resumed holding Sapphire's hand as they had walked.

"They entered by the door, obviously," Rath said, actually glancing back over his shoulder to give Estel a dull look.

"She'd better be okay," Esme said, more than a hint of a threat in her voice.

Estel hurried forward to walk beside his mother.

"How come this is such a big deal for you?" he asked, brow furrowed. "I mean, yeah, it's important, but…"

Esme thought for a minute, frowning as she considered how best to answer.

"Because she helped me," she finally said. "When I first got here, I couldn't understand a damn thing anyone said to me. No matter what I did, I couldn't figure it out, and it looked like I was gonna have a lot of trouble living here like I wanted to. One day I was out sulking back here, and Rhea wandered over to me, and…well, I couldn't understand what she was saying either. Except I could. Well, the words didn't make any sense still, but I knew what she meant, you know?" Esme shook her head. "Anyway. She helped me start working out that whole mess and learning. So, thanks to her, I got my job and can actually live here without ending up a bum on the streets because I couldn't talk right."

Sapphire looked quite struck by this.

"That was really good of her. I know how hard it is to learn a new language, even if you're good at that kind of thing, and it was wonderful of her to help you when you were struggling so much."

"It was worth all that we just paid to help her back," Estel added at once.

Ahead of them, Rath gave a terse little exhalation, but it was too quiet for any of the others to hear.

After a few minutes of following the meandering path, the group arrived in a small clearing ringed with thin, towering pine trees. At the far side, in an abrupt face of solid rock that marked the beginning of the real mountains, stood the opening of a cave. No animal tracks marred the thin snow that covered the clearing floor, though there were the marks of a pair of boots leading to and from the cavern. Esme said a few extremely un-ladylike things about the person who had left those prints, which Estel agreed with using equally colorful language. Sapphire cringed.

"Really, Estel…"

"Sorry. It's all true, though."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you need to say it like that."

"Is that the cave where the oxyale is, Esme?" Cen asked, cutting across Estel and Sapphire's continued discussion of the appropriate use of certain vocabulary.

Esme nodded. "Yeah, that's it. The spring's just inside, and I'll bet twenty gil that Rhea's back in there now too."

Cen smiled a bit. "Sorry, I don't think there are any takers for that one."

Rath crossed the clearing to the cave entrance, then paused beside it and looked pointedly back at the rest of the group.

"Yeah, yeah." Cen sighed. "We're coming."

At first glance, the small cavern reminded the Light Warriors of the ice crevasse in the Whisperwind Mountains, with its glistening blue walls and quiet sound of running water. Here, however, the appearance came not from ice, but from the types of stone; the walls sparkled with embedded minerals and crystals, and delicate, milky-colored stalactites and curtains of stone hung from the ceiling. The trickling sound of the water came from the back of the cave, barely fifty feet or so from the entrance, where a tiny streamlet flowed from a crack in the rock down into a wide, deep pool.

Above this pool floated the little pink ball of light, drifting back and forth as though it was pacing. As the companions drew nearer, their footsteps echoing off the shimmering walls of the cave, the light froze, then it darted to the side, hiding behind one of the ripples of stone hanging from the ceiling. The stone was so thin and translucent, however, that the light could still be seen through it as a muted glow.

Esme brushed past Rath and walked right to the pool's edge.

"It's okay, Rhea, it's me. Me and my friends are the ones who rescued you. Will you please come out and talk to us?"

The light quivered. After a moment, it peeked out from behind the stone curtain, then darted back. It did this a few more times before finally emerging and drifting back down toward the pool. The Light Warriors kept back a bit as the light approached Esme, not wanting to startle Rhea away again.

The caution appeared to be unnecessary, however; as soon as she got near Esme, Rhea's hesitance vanished, and she began chattering animatedly. At least, the others assumed she was talking: it just sounded like she was making a noise like a lot of high-pitched little bells. Esme apparently understood, though, because she nodded as Rhea went on, her expression sympathetic.

"I know," she said. "I'll bet you were scared to death."

More bell noises.

"I have no idea; whoever it was didn't show up at where I work. I bet—"

Rath gave a quiet cough. "Esme…"

"Oh, right, right. Rhea, these friends of mine need some help from you."

Rhea bobbed once in the air, then floated over to the companions. Up close, they could see a tiny figure at the center of the ball of light: barely two inches tall and willowy, wearing what looked like cotton fluff. She looked each of them over—Rath looked as annoyed as he ever did when under scrutiny, but the others did not mind it. She made her little _glingleglingleglingle_ noises again, and though the words remained as incomprehensible as ever, somehow the companions knew what she was saying.

She asked them what they needed.

"Er." Cen frowned slightly in confusion. "We need some oxyale. Um, if you wouldn't mind, that is."

Rhea said that it would not be any trouble at all, and that it was the least they deserved for rescuing her. She asked them if they wanted the oxyale now, or if they needed to go get something to hold it in first.

Rath held up the bottle from which he had freed Rhea.

"Will this suffice?"

Rhea veered away from the bottle but did say that, yes, that was the right size to hold oxyale for all four of them. She then told them she would be right back, and she turned away, zipped back to the pool, and dove into it.

"That's weird," Estel said after Rhea had gone. "How can we tell what she's saying when it's just that funny noise?"

Esme shrugged. "No idea; it must be a faerie thing. Handy, though, huh?"

Estel nodded. "Definitely."

"The faeries I've met in Elfheim talk like that too," Sapphire said. "They don't usually talk to anyone other than other faeries, though. Rhea's a lot more social."

"Likely a product of her isolation," Rath said. He was not looking at the others, instead studying some of delicate rock formations hanging from the ceiling. "Faeries are very group-minded; when separated from others of their kind, they look to the nearest available population, no matter the race, for replacement companions."

Esme smirked. "One of these days, Rath, a subject is gonna come up that you don't know a damn thing about, and the entire world will die of shock."

Cen and Estel both laughed, and even Sapphire giggled, hiding it behind her hand. Rath ignored all of them.

Just then, Rhea popped out of the water, carrying what looked like a large blue bubble. She wobbled a bit as she made her way toward the companions, her balance thrown off by her burden.

As she reached them, she asked for the bottle.

Rath held it out to her. Rhea maneuvered the bubble over, then lightly touched it to the bottle's opening. The bubble then began, somehow, to pour itself into the bottle, as though the rim of glass had broken its surface tension at only that one point. Though at first glance the oxyale looked merely like colored water, it flowed as though it was much thicker. Once the bottle was full, Rhea moved away, and Rath put the cork in place.

"There," he said, voice lowered. "Our next step has finally been taken."

Estel squirmed. Sapphire gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

_Glingleglingleglingle_.

Rhea asked if there was anything else they needed.

"No, that's it," Cen said. "Thank you for your help, Rhea."

He smiled, and Rhea made a sound that could only be a giggle. The pink glow around her went red, and she darted back to her hiding place behind the stone curtain. Esme and Sapphire both laughed, while Rath rolled his eyes and Estel looked offended.

"Dammit, Cen."

Cen blinked. "What?"

"That. Just _that_. Doesn't matter what kinda girl, you always make _that_ happen."

"Look, I've told you—"

The pair continued to bicker over the fairness, or lack thereof, of Cen's innate charisma as the group left the cavern.

* * *

The Light Warriors had the common room almost entirely to themselves that evening. They had spent a good part of the rest of the day down at the caravan, mostly at Esme and Sapphire's insistence. Rath had politely refused, instead returning to the inn, but Cen and Estel had allowed themselves to be dragged along. Their purchase of a cask of Crescent mead did a lot to alleviate their reluctance, however.

Nightfall found Cen, Estel, and Sapphire sitting at their usual table by the common room's central fireplace. Cen and Estel were indulging in their newly-acquired mead, toasting a successful day, while Sapphire studied the bottle of oxyale while sipping a cup of tea. Esme bustled around the room, finishing the last bit of cleaning for the evening. Rath sat by himself at a table by the wall, staring out one of the small, deep-set windows at the snowy landscape outside. He had been sitting there since the others had returned from the market and had yet to acknowledge their presence.

"Well." Esme, finished with her rounds, planted herself in the remaining empty seat at the companions' table. "That was quite a day." She accepted the mug of mead Estel offered her and took a drink.

Cen nodded, his feet up on a chair he had dragged over from a neighboring table. "Sure was. Trading magic armor to rescue a faerie wasn't ever on my list of things I thought I'd do in my life. …Even with how much longer that list has got lately," he added after a bit of consideration.

"Cheers to that," Estel said, holding up his mug. Cen tapped his against it and took a drink.

"Cheers to which part?" Esme asked with an Estel-ish sort of smile.

Estel thought about this.

"Yes," he said finally, then took a drink himself.

Esme chuckled, then turned toward Sapphire and looked at the bottle of oxyale herself. Sapphire moved the bottle across the table a bit so Esme and the others could see it better. Bubbles had accumulated thickly on the inside of the glass, and no amount of tapping or shaking could dislodge them. Estel tapped the bottle anyway.

"So what's this for?" Esme asked. "Where are you gonna go where you'll need to be able to breathe underwater?"

"Onrac," Cen said, after neither Estel nor Sapphire made any indication of answering. "The Shrine of Water is there, and I guess the Fiend sunk it to the bottom of the ocean. So, we need to be able to breathe down there if we want to fix the Crystal."

"Ah." Esme nodded. "Onrac. Got it. …Huh." She frowned, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. "You know, I think we've had a couple people from Onrac come through here before. With the caravan, like how I got here. They didn't stay, though; they went along with the caravan when it headed south."

Sapphire looked up, interested. "Oh? Did you talk to any of them?"

Esme shook her head. "I couldn't have if I'd wanted to; they didn't speak Common. They were a sorry-lookin' bunch, though." She took a drink from her mug. "But I guess that's what happens when you live right next to where one of those Fiends sets up house, right? World-stomping bastards can't make good neighbors."

The three Warriors exchanged somber glances.

"Nope," Cen said. "They sure don't. That's why we're fixing things."

"Good kids," Esme said approvingly.

The group continued to chat, their discussion turning to more casual subjects. Outside, snow began to fall: not a roaring blizzard like before, but slow and peaceful, the large flakes drifting lazily past the inn's windows. Cen glanced at the nearest window and started to comment on this, but he stopped as he noticed something else.

Rath had left the common room.

Cen blinked and looked around, frowning.

"Hey," he said to the others. "I'll be right back."

He got to his feet and strode out of the room before anyone could reply.

He first went upstairs and checked Rath's room. A knock yielded no reply, so Cen opened the door a crack and stuck his head inside. The room was empty. Cen shut the door, then just stood in the hall for a minute, frowning and thinking. Finally, he went back downstairs, put on his coat and cloak and other outdoor gear, and went outside. He only had to scan the snowy ground for a moment before he found what he needed, and then he put up his fur-lined hood and set off down to the main street and into the city.

He followed a very circuitous route, up and down streets with no apparent aim in mind. Gradually, however, the path made its way up the foothills onto which the town climbed, and it came to an end at a cathedral near the town's rear wall. The building had the same sturdy construction as the others in the town, with thick log walls and a sharply pitched roof, and in addition featured a tall steeple and a carving of Maduin, Gaia's patron god, displayed prominently above the front doors. It also had a cemetery beside it, bounded off by a stone wall. The monuments within stood out dark against the snow. Beside the stone wall stood Rath, facing the graveyard. A thin layer of snow covered his shoulders and hat. Cen sighed and shook his head.

"Not a very cheerful view," he remarked as he approached the pensive mage.

Rath started and spun around. He relaxed when he saw it was only Cen, but he sounded terse when he spoke.

"How did you find me?"

Cen shrugged. "I followed your tracks. You've got different shoes and smaller feet than pretty much anyone else in this place, so it was easy."

Rath did not reply. He just watched Cen approach and stop beside him, then he turned back to the graveyard.

"And what was so pressing that you felt the need to track me down rather than wait for my return to discuss it with me?"

Cen shrugged. "Just wondering where you went. You usually leave in a huff, so you sneaking out instead seemed a little weird."

"Hm."

The pair fell silent, Rath staring over the tombstones, Cen facing the opposite direction and looking out at the city. Smoke rose from dozens of chimneys, and firelight twinkled in dozens of windows. Snow swirled idly downward, the fat, wet flakes settling on the city and the two quiet companions.

"Nice place," Cen commented at length. "Peaceful."

Rath made an indistinct noise of agreement but did not turn to look. Cen glanced sideways at him, then looked back out over Gaia.

"Mind if I ask you a question?"

Rath shot a sharp look at him. "That depends upon the question."

"Nothing about you personally," Cen said with just a bit of a joking tone. "I just wanted to know what it's going to be like in Onrac. If there's anything else we need to prepare for, you know. Is the whole place flooded, or what?"

It was a minute before Rath replied; he seemed to be going over the question to see if there was a reason he could be offended by it. When he found none, he gave a short little exhalation.

"No, Onrac itself is not flooded. At least, it was not when I was last there. Things may have changed since then, of course, but I do not think it likely. It seems…the Fiend would rather not destroy _all_ his playthings."

Cen winced at the implications.

"Ouch. So, I guess the only way anyone could get out is by hitching a ride with that caravan." He glanced at Rath again. "Is that what you did?"

Rath did not answer. Cen looked away.

"Okay, I get it."

There was another length of silence, then Rath spoke up. He still did not look away from the cemetery.

"We will need to bring a large supply of food and similar necessities, more than we believe we will need. It is difficult to sustain crops or other food sources there, so the people will have little to spare for visitors."

Cen nodded. "Okay." He thought for a minute, then went on. "Is the water there safe to drink?"

"They have methods by which they can purify it," Rath said. "Bringing a supply of our own as well would be wise, however."

"All right." Cen leaned back against the cemetery wall. "It won't be fun hiking that extra stuff around, but I guess there's nothing to do for it."

Another silence fell. Rath did not offer any further information, and Cen did not request any. They just stood and stared in opposite directions, watching the snow fall.

At last, Cen straightened up and brushed the snow off his shoulders.

"Well, okay. I'll leave you to your whatever you were doing up here. Have a fun time." He started to walk back the direction that he had come.

He had not gone more than a dozen paces when Rath turned and called to him.

"Cen."

Cen stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"

Rath did not speak again right away; he seemed to be struggling with himself. Finally, however, he went on.

"When we arrive in Onrac…say nothing about our reason for being there." Another hesitation. "And…do not mention that the city is my birthplace."

He offered no explanation for these requests. He just stood and watched Cen through the darkness. Cen, frowning, almost asked for one, but he had the sense to change his mind. After a few moments of waiting, just in case, he nodded.

"No problem, Rath. I won't say a word."

Rath visibly relaxed. He nodded back, then turned away to gaze out over the cemetery once more, as still as any of the tombstones. Cen sighed, shook his head, and started back down into the city and toward the Wolf Lodge, as the snow fell thick and silent around him.


	34. A Boy's Best Friend

**Chapter 34: A Boy's Best Friend**

"I'll get you this time!"

"Yeah, right! You couldn't hit the broad side of a dragon!"

"You little—!"

There came a blast of concussive force, and a pillow flew through the air toward a barricade of overturned tables. Another pillow shot from behind the barricade, intended to strike the incoming attack and knock it off course, but it missed completely and soared across the nearly empty common room. Both pillows struck the walls behind their opposing forts and flopped down to the floor.

"Missed by a mile!" Estel shouted from behind his shelter.

Cen, who had struck first, scooped up the newly-arrived projectile and got ready to shoot it back. Estel, however, was quicker, and when Cen emerged from behind his barricade of tables to aim the pillow, Estel's shot took him square in the face. Cen yelled and toppled back in surprise, while Estel laughed in triumph.

"Bullseye!"

Unfortunately, he did not duck back under cover quite fast enough, and Cen's return shot caught him right in the head as well.

"What was that about the broad side of a dragon?" Cen asked, laughing.

Estel just swore and scrabbled around to grab the pillow and shoot it back.

Off to the side, Sapphire and Rath sat at their table by the fireplace and watched the mild fray. It was, in fact, an assigned exercise meant to help Cen and Estel further hone their skills at utilizing their new magical abilities. Rath had been the one to suggest it, to some surprise; Estel had explained this by saying that they did not think Rath liked "things that're actually fun." This earned only a dull look in response.

The rest of the common room was empty thanks to a blinding blizzard roaring outside. The snow fell so thick and the wind blew so harshly that only blank whiteness was visible out the window; not even the outer edge of the windowsill could be seen. The storm had been carrying on this way, with no sign of slackening, for the last three days, ever since the caravan had left after their two week stay. This raging weather proved too much even for the hearty Gaian people, and so the Wolf Lodge had been all but abandoned by everyone who was not living there. This more or less meant that the Light Warriors had the inn to themselves, hence the present activity.

"They're getting better," Sapphire commented as Estel launched a new assault. "At control and everything, I mean. And they've been going at this for a while and haven't fallen asleep yet."

Rath gave a curt nod. "They have made a remarkable amount of progress."

"We could probably start working on actual spells soon."

"Yes, I imagine so."

Sapphire glanced at Rath, but he did not say anything further. He had been growing rather taciturn again, even toward Esme. Cen, as usual, took Rath's bad mood in stride, and Estel was too preoccupied to bother with him, so Sapphire took it upon herself to worry on everyone's behalf. She picked idly at one sleeve, then looked away.

"Is the weather here always this bad in the winter?" she asked.

"Why would I know that?"

"I don't know… You've just been so many places, and I thought—" She broke off, realizing her rationalizations were not going to aid anything. Sighing, she shook her head. "I was only asking because if there are a lot of storms like this, we're going to need to leave soon so we don't get snowed in. We can't really afford to be stuck here until spring. Or summer," she added, shooting a worried glance at the blank window.

Rath did not answer at once. He continued to watch Cen and Estel shoot pillows back and forth at one another, a flat look in his eyes.

"I would prefer to have more time here," he said at last. "Estel has a great deal more work to do."

"We can still work while we're traveling," Sapphire pointed out.

"It is simpler to do so here."

"Rath…" Sapphire leaned toward Rath, trying to make him look at her. She reached out to touch his arm, but then thought better of it and withdrew at the last moment. "This…isn't like you. Why don't you want to leave?"

Rath's eyes flashed, and he shot a glare at her.

"Could it possibly be that I am enjoying this chance to rest after everything we have already been through?"

"But you never seem to enjoy anything."

Sapphire clapped her hand over her mouth as soon as she said this, looking absolutely stunned at herself for being so brazen. Rath just continued to glare at her, then he made a derisive noise and turned away to watch the battle again.

"You have been spending too much time with Estel."

Sapphire blushed and looked back at the fight as well.

"All right, if you're going to be like that about it. I think I'll talk to Esme about this, ask if these kinds of storms happen a lot. Then we'll be able to make a plan about when we'll have to leave."

Rath ignored her.

Cen had managed to get hold of both pillows, and he now shot them at Estel in quick succession. As he did, though, he drooped against his barricade, fatigue creeping onto his features. He gave a wave of surrender.

"Okay, I'm spent. Let's wrap this up, Estel."

Estel, who had dodged the attacks, just snorted.

"Hey, all's fair. I'm not gonna—"

"What the hell's been going on in here?"

Esme had just come in from the kitchen and now stood looking at the upturned tables and chairs with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. Estel hopped to his feet at once, a pillow in hand, while Cen straightened up with some effort and yawned.

"We were practicin'," Estel said, grinning. "We turned the tables into forts and were shootin' stuff at each other to get better at using our magic."

Esme sighed and shook her head, but she also smiled.

"That's very nice, Estel. And you're gonna put it all back to how it's supposed to be once you're finished, right?"

"Yeah, sure. Hey, wanna see how much better I'm getting?"

Not waiting for an answer, Estel turned, tossed the pillow into the air, then shot it straight at Cen. It hit him in the chest and flopped to the floor at his feet. Cen gave Estel a dull look.

"It's bad sportsmanship to hit a man when he's down."

"You're not down," Estel said in his most reasonable tone. "See, you're standing right there, aren't you?"

Cen sighed, then shook his head and stumbled over to Rath and Sapphire's table. Estel did not press the issue, instead turning back to Esme.

"See, I'm doin' good, huh?"

"You're doing great," Esme said, beaming. Her expression then changed to one of feigned seriousness. "And now you get to clean up the mess you made. Go straighten up those tables and put them back where you got them."

"Okay," Estel said. "Hey, Cen, come help."

Cen, sitting with his head down on the table, just made a half-hearted rude gesture at Estel, then let his arm flop back down in front of him. Estel scowled at him, but Esme laughed, and Sapphire giggled, though more at the look on Estel's face than anything else. Rath just rolled his eyes in disgust.

"You're all against me," Estel declared, succumbing to a fit of dramatics. He dropped down into the nearest chair and folded forward to put his head on the table as Cen was doing, then heaved a great sigh.

"Aw, poor boy." Esme ruffled his hair, sending his bandana askew. "Maybe you shouldn't've hit him with that pillow, huh?"

Estel mumbled something, his words made even more unintelligible by the tabletop, but did not argue. After a couple of seconds, he straightened up and got to his feet, then walked over to the nearest tipped table and started hefting it upright.

* * *

Over the next week, tension began to suffuse the atmosphere of the Wolf Lodge. It started, of course, with Rath and his worsening temperament. Sapphire in turn became more on-edge as she worried both about him and about the need to continue on the quest. This latter spread to Cen as Sapphire discussed the matter with him and the pair began to plan, and then even to Esme when Sapphire questioned her concerning the weather and other pertinent issues. As for Estel, he stubbornly ignored the growing discomfort, acting, with startling vehemence, as though nothing had changed and that the companions' departure did not loom ever larger before them.

Another blizzard settled over Gaia only a few days after the last had ended. This just did more to confirm Sapphire's concern about needing to leave as soon as possible, and Cen agreed. Rath did not attempt to protest when they brought the issue to him again, instead giving a clipped, disinterested agreement, almost more of a granting of permission. Only Cen took this acquiesence at face value.

The evening of the second day of the blizzard saw Cen and Sapphire seated at the companions' usual table by the fireplace, their heads together as they discussed their plans for departure. Rath sat at a different table, absorbed in a new spellbook. Estel was helping Esme in the kitchen instead of joining the others. While the peat fire filled the common room with a comfortable warmth, the wind wailing around the inn made it impossible to forget the chill outside.

A lull fell over Cen and Sapphire's conversation, and in the silence, Cen cast a look over at the kitchen door. He sighed and shook his head.

"This is going to be bad. This is going to be _really_ bad."

Sapphire sighed as well. "I know. But we don't have a choice. It's not as though we can leave him behind just because…"

She trailed off, but Cen nodded.

"We shouldn't have got his hopes up. _We_ might think a month would work for 'as long as you want', but he doesn't."

"I don't think saying it differently would have changed anything." Sapphire stared into the fire, frowning. Her braid hung loose, and she fiddled with the end of it. "Is there any chance that he'll…be reasonable about everything?"

"I suppose," Cen said, though he sounded doubtful. He leaned back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest. "The way he's been acting about it already is making me think it's a long shot, though. Still, I guess you never know."

"And what about…" Sapphire glanced over at Rath to make certain he was occupied with his book, then leaned in toward Cen and lowered her voice. "What about Rath? He's been acting almost exactly the same way Estel has."

Cen cast a look over his shoulder at Rath. The mage had his head bowed in such a way that the brim of his hat obscured even his eyes. As Cen watched, Rath turned a page of his book to continue reading. Cen turned back to Sapphire and shrugged.

"That's different."

"Why?"

"Because it is," Cen said, in a tone that implied this was a perfectly satisfactory explanation. When Sapphire continued to look puzzled, Cen just shrugged again and went on, keeping his voice lowered. "Look. We're heading to his hometown next, right? Maybe he's just not in a real hurry to go back there. I wasn't too keen on going back to Crescent Lake, remember?"

Sapphire fidgeted and looked down at the tabletop. "Yes, I suppose…"

"Well, there you go. It's fine. I got over going to Crescent Lake, and Rath will get over going to Onrac. It'll all be fine."

"Are you sure?" Sapphire asked, looking up.

"Sure I am."

"All right… I guess all we need to worry about is Estel, then."

"Leave that to me," Cen said. He looked over at the kitchen door again, then got to his feet. "You know, I might as well go get it over with. That way he'll at least have a few days to get used to the idea."

"Will that help?"

Cen considered this.

"No, probably not," he admitted at last.

Sapphire sighed and folded her arms on the tabletop. She said nothing further, instead just staring moodily into the fire as Cen started toward the kitchen.

He had just reached the door when it popped opened and Estel emerged. He nearly walked straight into Cen, who just managed to side-step in time to prevent the collision. Estel blinked in surprise.

"Oh, hey, Cen. What're you up to?" He frowned. "Hey, you know Mom told you that you're not allowed in the kitchen."

Cen shook his head. "I don't want to have anything to do with the kitchen. I was actually coming to look for you."

"Me? How come?"

"Because I need to talk to you about something, that's how come."

Estel's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What?"

"Nothing bad," Cen assured him, and he actually sounded as though he meant this. "Just…stuff." He started to go on, but then stopped and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Hey, let's go sit down. It's a lot warmer over at the tables."

Estel did not reply, but he did follow Cen over to a table on the opposite side of the fireplace from where Sapphire sat. Cen waited for Estel to sit—he did so with slight reluctance—then sat down himself.

"How's everything going?"

"Great, just like normal." Estel frowned, the suspicion not leaving his eyes. "I was on my way to get something for Mom."

Cen attempted a smile. "Is that a hint that I shouldn't talk for too long so you can get back to work? This is crazy; I never thought I'd see the day when you'd actually _want_ to go do the dishes."

"It was only boring before."

"Yeah, I'll bet."

"Cen, what's goin' on?"

Cen sobered but did not answer immediately. He tapped one finger on the table and glanced across the room at the window; the view outside was already dark, the wall of swirling snow blocking whatever remained of the sunset. Sapphire caught Cen's eye briefly, then looked pointedly away.

"We've had a pretty good time here, right?" Cen said at last. "I mean, aside from not being able to understand a single word anyone up here says."

"Yeah, we're havin' a great time," Estel said, a stubborn edge creeping into his voice. He swiveled in his seat to look at the fireplace. "Don't you think that's weird?" he asked, pointing at the flames. "How d'they get dirt to burn like that? Wouldn't you figure they'd use all the trees they've got around here?"

"I guess they need the wood more for building than burning." Cen stopped tapping his finger, instead pressing his hand flat to the tabletop. "But that's not…look, don't try to change the subject."

"What subject? You're just ramblin'."

"No, I'm not, I'm… Okay, yes, I am. But fine, if you want me to get to the point, then I will." Cen went on before Estel could speak up again, or even look away from the fire. "We need to leave, Estel."

Estel's hands clenched, but he turned back to Cen only looking confused.

"Huh? But we just barely sat down."

"Come on, you know what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't." The stubbornness returned to Estel's voice.

Cen slouched forward and put his head in his hands for a moment, looking more resigned than pained. "Estel, stop it. You know we only came here to get the oxyale. It's great that we found Esme too, after how long you've been looking for her. But…" Cen trailed off as Estel's eyes hardened, then he continued, his expression growing stern. "But now that we've got the oxyale, we really need to get going on the quest again."

For a minute, Estel just continued to glare, the tendons in his neck working. Finally, he turned to look at the fire again.

"No, we don't," he said flatly.

"Yes, we do," Cen said, his tone allowing for no argument. "Staying here has been great, but it doesn't mean that we don't still have to do our job. This isn't more important than saving the world."

No response. Estel kept glowering into the fire, his lips pressed tightly together. Cen ground his teeth in exasperation, then pressed on, his stern tone unwavering.

"We've been here for nearly a month. It's been great to have a break like this from everything, but ignoring it all doesn't mean it's going to go away. Me and Saph have been talking, and we want all of us to leave as soon as this storm blows out."

"Why?" Estel snapped.

"I just—" Cen pressed his fists against the table, trying to keep from losing his temper. "Because if we wait longer, we could get caught in another blizzard, and then maybe another, and then we'd get snowed in here 'til spring. We can't wait that long."

"Why not? What's a couple months matter?"

"Maybe the Fiends only need a couple months to make a plan to make everything even worse for everyone. We can't risk that."

Estel did not reply to this aloud, but he mouthed "Yes, we can" to himself, as though he thought Cen was not watching him. Cen swore.

"Estel, stop it! You're being ridiculous!"

"I'm not bein' ridiculous!" Estel yelled, rounding on Cen. "I want to stay! You all said we could stay!"

"For a while, not forever! You know we still have work to finish!"

"So go finish without me! I don't care anymore! You can come back and get me when you're done!"

"It doesn't work that way! This is something we _all_ need to do! You can't stay behind just because you're acting like a little kid throwing a tantrum because he doesn't want to say good-bye to his mommy!"

Silence greeted this. Estel looked as though Cen had just punched him, and Cen scowled back at him, fuming. Then the glower returned to Estel's face, and he jerked to his feet so abruptly that he sent his chair toppling backwards.

"I'm. Not. _Leaving_!"

And he stormed out of the room, stomping back to the kitchen and slamming the door behind him so hard that it nearly broke the hinges.

Cen watched him leave, the frustration only fading from his face once Estel had disappeared from view. Then he leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, shaking his head in resignation. He ran his hand through his hair, making the already unruly locks stand on end even worse.

"Well, that went about like I figured."

"We're never going to be able to make him be sensible about this," Sapphire said. She sounded a bit stuffed up, and when Cen looked over at her, he spotted her dabbing at her eyes with the edge of her sleeve. He started to say something, then stopped, sighed, and got to his feet. He walked around to sit with Sapphire at her table, in spite of looking uncomfortable at her tears.

"Come on, Saph. It's not as bad as that."

Sapphire sniffled into her sleeve. "I know. I just, it's so sad how he can't even bear the thought of leaving her. He must have missed her so much…"

"You have no idea. He was really out of it for a while when he first came to live with us, after they split up the first time."

"But he must know this won't turn out like that did. He'll know right where his mother is this time, and that we can come back once we're done."

Cen shrugged. "I know, it makes sense to me. Estel just…sometimes doesn't think about things the way other people do." He fell silent, then he smiled and said, half-joking, "Maybe we should just kidnap him. Might be the only way to drag him away."

Sapphire frowned at him. "That's not funny."

Off at his own table, Rath had paused in his reading. As Cen and Sapphire continued to talk, going over their options, Rath closed his book and got to his feet. The others did not even notice his movement. Rath crossed the room, making a point of passing on the opposite side of the fireplace, and went into the kitchen.

The room did not have the immaculately clean appearance of the kitchen in Cen's house in Crescent Lake, though some of this had to do with the poor weather; bins of garbage near the outside door stood heaped to overflowing, and the floor and some of the counters clearly had not been cleaned properly since the start of the blizzard. Rath paid little attention to this, however, his narrowed gaze instead sweeping over the people in the room. A few workers milled around, busy with chores and gossip, but Esme and Estel were not in eyeshot. Rath began a search of the room and soon found the pair sequestered in a nook by the pantry. Estel, slouched against the wall, bore an expression of mixed dismay and fury, while Esme appeared placating, her tone firm and reasonable.

"—know he's right, Estel. You gotta do your job, even if you don't really want to all the time."

"But—"

Rath cleared his throat. "If I may interrupt."

Esme and Estel both started, not having heard him approach. Esme looked a bit relieved to see him, but Estel scowled and set his jaw.

"What do _you_ want?" he demanded. "Gonna give one of your speeches about how I'm not focusin' on the quest enough?"

"Quite the contrary," Rath said, his tone milder than it had been in days. "I came to offer you my support; you are not the only one who does not wish to depart so soon."

Estel stared at him. "…What? Wait, but you…" He trailed off, confusion written all across his face.

"You should pay closer attention to your surroundings," Rath said, a bit dryly. "Then you would have known you would have me as an ally in this."

Estel just continued to look baffled, and Esme frowned.

"That's really nice of you, but don't you—"

"I am not going to reiterate my reasons yet again. Suffice it to say that I do not feel it necessary for us to continue on our journey as swiftly as Cen and Sapphire believe we should. Another few weeks will not make matters worse than they already are."

This prospect managed to pierce Estel's confusion, and he straightened up a bit, a hopeful look appearing on his face.

"You think you can talk 'em into lettin' us stay longer?"

"Possibly. And if talking proves ineffective, there are other methods of persuasion I can employ."

"Now wait just a minute," Esme interrupted. Her frown remained firmly in place, her eyes narrowed a bit in suspicion. "That's a bit much. I'd love for you guys to stay longer, but I thought you had a job to be doing."

"We do," Rath confirmed, still in a calm, level tone completely at odds with his recent attitude. "However, our next foe has been waiting for us for two hundred years, and the last, for four hundred years; I do not believe two or three more weeks' delay will matter much to them."

"_Exactly_!" Estel said, looking vindicated. "Gods, finally, someone else makin' sense! Go tell Cen that, huh? Maybe he'll actually listen if it's you."

"Don't you go anywhere," Esme said firmly before Rath could reply. She turned to Estel, and his expression swung from triumphant to contrite in the face of her stern gaze. "Estel, you _know_ Cen's right."

Estel drew a breath, ready to argue, but after a moment's struggle, he gave up. He sighed, slumped back against the wall, and nodded, his eyes downcast. He kicked at the dingy wooden floor.

"But I don't wanna," he muttered.

"I know you don't. I wish you could stay here too. But sometimes you can't have exactly what you want exactly when you want it."

"Why?"

"Because life isn't fair, that's why. You've just gotta deal with what it gives you, and that means having to do the nasty jobs when you'd rather be doing something else."

Estel did not lift his gaze from the floor. Esme watched him, while Rath watched her, his hands clenched at his sides. The noise of cleaning and talking in the rest of the kitchen seemed oddly distant. After a while, Esme reached over and started straightening Estel's hair, hanging loose without his usual bandana.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll be right here waiting for you when you get back. You just get out there and take care of those monsters that are screwing up the world. If you don't, who knows if there'll even be a Gaia to come back to."

Estel cringed, clenching his jaw at the mere thought, and Rath gave a visible twitch. Esme relaxed and drew Estel into a hug. Estel submitted gladly and clung to her.

"You promise you'll still be here?"

"Of course I do. If you think I'm gonna let the two of us get lost again for however many years, then you've really lost your mind."

She said this with some levity, trying to lighten the mood a bit, but it did not work; Estel just hugged her tighter, his expression desperate and serious. Rath looked away in discomfort, but in compliance with Esme's order, he did not take so much as one step away from her and Estel.

"Okay." Esme patted Estel's back. "Sweetheart, I want you to go back out there and tell Cen you're sorry."

"But I didn't—" Estel started to protest, but Esme cut him off.

"Tell him you're sorry and that it's okay for you all to leave."

"But—"

"Estel."

Silence. Esme put her hands on Estel's shoulders and pressed him away lightly. After a moment, Estel reluctantly released her, turned, and walked away, his head still down as he exited the kitchen. Esme watched him go, dismay on her own face, but then took on an expression of maternal sternness again as she turned to Rath.

"Now, as for you."

"There is nothing to discuss," Rath said at once, still keeping his gaze averted.

"Don't you try to out-stubborn me," Esme said, folding her arms. "It won't work. What's going on with you, Rath? When Estel told me you were the most dead-set on getting this job finished up, I didn't think that meant you'd take every chance to keep from getting it done."

"I hardly think desiring more time to recuperate means I have no drive to complete our quest." When Esme did not reply to this, Rath went on. "I should return to the others; we have planning to do."

"Oh no, you don't."

In a move none of the Light Warriors would have dared try, Esme grabbed Rath by the arm and dragged him back into the corner, putting him where Estel had been standing. Rath stared at her in astonishment, but he did not grow angry or even try to remove his arm from Esme's grip.

"You're going to tell me exactly what's going on with you," Esme said, her tone and glare not allowing for any argument.

Rath looked away from her again, out at the kitchen; the other workers had left to attend to other duties, leaving him and Esme alone.

"Estel has told you what we have already gone through," he said. "What is to come will only be worse. I believe my stance on our stay here is perfectly justified."

"Okay, fine. And what else?"

"There is no—"

"You're lying," Esme said flatly. "If you don't have at least ten reasons for all this fuss you're makin' hidden under that hat of yours, then I'll eat my apron."

Rath's shoulders tensed, his golden eyes narrowed as they stared, unseeing, out at the kitchen.

"I find it interesting," he said at length, having to force a calm tone now, "that you seem more worried about me than your own son."

"I'm more worried about him than you can imagine. I just know better than to show him, that's all. It would just make _him_ worry. But here's the thing." Esme shook Rath's arm, trying to make him look at her. "I'm worried about you because you need someone to be. You're used to doing what you want, acting how you want, with no one calling you on it. Well, that's what I'm going to do now. You acted like a jerk before, Estel said. Here, you've been a picture-perfect gentleman and gone out of your way to get you guys to stay longer. I guess that would be better, normally, but…" She frowned, her brow furrowed in confusion and concern. "…not now. Every time I look at you, I feel like something's wrong. You're going to tell me what's going on with you, _now_."

Rath did not reply. Esme set her jaw, again looking astonishingly like Estel. She gave Rath's arm another shake.

"Why don't you want to leave?"

Rath drew a breath, still not looking at Esme.

"You and Estel have been apart for seven years. I thought you would appreciate more time together before he has to move on."

"You're right," Esme said, her expression softening slightly. "I would. But something tells me you weren't the kinda person to care about that before."

"…I do not suppose I can argue against that."

"So what changed? How come you suddenly decided to care _now_, with us?"

"I hardly see how it matters," Rath said. It seemed to be taking him great effort to keep from ripping his arm free of Esme's grip and storming out of the kitchen.

"Humor me," Esme said dryly.

There was a long silence. Esme did not loosen her grip on Rath's arm, nor did she relax her stern glare. Rath still did not look at her, his posture rigid, his eyes narrowed. The sound of the shrieking wind outside and the cold in the room did nothing to disrupt the discomfort in this one small corner near the pantry.

Finally, Rath gave a sharp exhalation, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. The pique left his eyes.

"Because," he said quietly, "the last time you and your son were together, you both showed an extraordinary amount of kindness to a very wretched young man who did not deserve it. …He felt he should try to return the favor."

Esme stared at Rath in confusion. Then her eyes widened and she gasped.

"You!"

Rath nodded.

"I can't believe it!" Esme seized hold of Rath's other arm, trying to turn him toward her, but he resisted, going tense again. She stopped trying to move him but did not let him go. "Why haven't you told Estel?"

"I did not feel the information was relevant to our situation."

"So? He'd still want to know!"

"That may be, but it does not change my opinion. I would be appreciative if you also remained silent on the matter. I think you understand the benefits of anonymity enough to know why I would want to keep this to myself."

"I…" Esme struggled with this for a moment, then exhaled heavily and shook her head. "Okay. Yeah, I can understand that." She released Rath's arms, her eyes sweeping what little could be seen of his face. "I couldn't even tell it was you; you got so different." She paused, frowning. "…Rath?"

"The matter is complicated," Rath said shortly. He finally looked back at Esme, discomfort visible in his eyes. "Moreso than you know."

"Then let me help you," Esme said at once.

"No. You have already done more than enough. Even as it stands, I could never hope to repay you."

"You don't gotta repay anything. You were hurt and sick, we just did what any decent people would've done."

"That is not how I see it."

"Why?"

"I…" Rath trailed off, breathing hard. The urge to bolt became visible in his eyes, but again he resisted it. "I can't discuss it," he said at last, his voice tense. "I'm…I am sorry, Esme, but this is one case where I am most certainly more stubborn than you."

Esme gave an exasperated sigh.

"Still with the secrets. Maybe you haven't changed all that much." She shook her head. "Okay, okay. I get it. But I'm still sticking by what I said; you don't need to repay anything, so quit trying to do that and get back to saving the world instead. Cen and Sapphire are right: breaks are nice, but they gotta end sometime."

Rath looked away again and nodded.

"I know."

"Good." Esme fell silent, then smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "You're lookin' better than the last time I saw you."

Rath allowed her to divert the conversation, relaxing just slightly. "My health has improved somewhat since then, yes."

"And it's a good thing, too; you were in a real state."

"I recall."

Esme gave a quiet laugh. "If this isn't just the season for surprises. I'll never have a winter this exciting again as long as I live."

"Personally, I have found excitement to be somewhat overrated."

"Fair enough. Guess it depends on the kind." Esme put a hand on Rath's shoulder, ignoring the way he tensed up again at her touch. "Look…Rath—"

"I must return to the others," Rath interrupted. "We have plans to make."

Esme frowned, looking ready to press on in spite of Rath's protests, but then she relented, shaking her head.

"Right. Yeah, you gotta get that taken care of."

"You will keep silent on the details of this discussion, as I requested?"

"Yeah, of course." Esme mimed buttoning her lips together, just as Estel sometimes did.

"…Thank you."

With that, Rath turned and walked away. Esme's hand dropped to her side, and she watched him leave with a slight frown, her brow furrowed. Once the door had shut behind him, she slumped against the wall and put one hand over her eyes.

She stayed like that for a long time.


	35. Someone To Watch Over Me

**Chapter 35: Someone To Watch Over Me**

The blizzard stopped after two days. Another two days later on a brisk, bright morning, the Light Warriors, bundled up in their coats and cloaks, gathered in the entryway of the Wolf Lodge to say goodbye to Esme. Their gear was packed, new supplies had been purchased, the bill at the inn had been settled, and Cen had gone out and prepared the airship for the journey. Outwardly, at least, the companions were completely prepared to leave.

Esme had a much harder time keeping the intensity of her worry off her face now than she had previously. She looked around at the companions with tears in her eyes.

"I don't think there's anything I can say," she said, wiping at her eyes. "'Thank you' is probably the best I can do, really. So…" She smiled a little. "Thank you. Thanks for finding me, and for proving that bastard Bikke wrong. You have no idea what it means to me and Estel."

"I'm glad we could help," Cen said. He looked the most composed of the group, bothered by neither the circumstances nor the glares Estel and Rath kept shooting him. "And we'll be sure to come back and visit you once we're done with all this."

"Not visit," Estel muttered under his breath. "_Stay_."

Esme gave Cen a mock-stern look.

"You better. And I expect to get a ride in that flying boat of yours when you get back, too."

Cen smiled. "No problem. We'll fly you all the way down to Pravoka for a day so you can point and laugh at Bikke."

"Sounds good to me." Esme gave a small smile and hugged Cen. "You all be careful. Don't let Estel get in any trouble."

Cen returned the hug. "I'll do what I can."

"Good." Esme released him, then turned to Sapphire, who was blinking rapidly to keep her tears at bay, and hugged her as well.

"He's sweet, isn't he?" Esme said, her voice lowered so only Sapphire could hear.

Sapphire nodded, her tears overcoming her. "Yes, he is. He's very sweet."

"Take good care of him."

"I will."

Esme released Sapphire, then turned to look at Rath. Rath stared back at her, and in his eyes was the faintest hint of the emotion he had displayed that night in the kitchen.

"I don't need to say anything to you, do I?" Esme said. A few tears escaped and slipped down her cheeks.

"No."

"That's what I thought." She hugged him as well, and instead of pulling away or looking alarmed, Rath returned the gesture with surprising fervency.

"Thank you," he said, his voice almost inaudible. "For…everything."

Esme did not reply, but she gave him a knowing look as she released him and stepped away. And so she came last to Estel.

Before she could say anything, Estel all but adhered himself to her with a very tight hug, his eyes screwed shut. Esme hugged him back almost as tightly.

"Say you'll still be here," he said. "Promise you'll be here and you won't go away and you won't be…won't be gone. Promise."

"I promise," Esme said reassuringly. She eased Estel off her, then reached up and cupped his face in her hands. "Be good, okay? Don't do anything I'd have to scold you for. Try to stay safe." She smiled a little. "And don't be sad. It'll all be okay, really."

Estel nodded. "Okay. I'll try."

Tears came to her eyes again. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, Mom."

With this, the companions left the Wolf Lodge and made their way to the main street, lined with towering snowdrifts. Esme stood in the doorway of the inn, waving to the group until they were out of sight.

No one spoke as they walked down the street, the packed snow crunching under their boots. Estel lagged behind the others and kept glancing back up the street. Sapphire in turn looked back at him every so often to make sure he was still following. Estel stayed with them, however, in spite of how unwilling he appeared.

As they exited the town, however, passing through the massive log gates, Estel came to a halt. Cen, Rath, and Sapphire continued out onto the beginnings of the glistening field of white that covered the valley, almost blinding bright in the sunlight. Sapphire cast a look back, then stopped when she saw that Estel had not moved.

"Cen," she called ahead.

Cen and Rath both stopped and looked back as well. Cen sighed as he saw Estel, then tromped back through the snow to stand next to him.

"Come on, Estel."

Estel shook his head. "No. I can't."

"Don't make me carry you out of here. You know I'll do it."

Estel remained stationary, his hands clenched. Sapphire and Rath both watched him, Sapphire with concern, Rath with disinterest. Cen put one gloved hand to his forehead with a grimace.

"Okay, you asked for it."

He ducked down, grabbed Estel around the legs, and hoisted him up over his shoulder. Estel screamed in protest, thrashing and swearing, but Cen ignored this, just making sure to keep Estel's legs pinned so he could not kick Cen in the head. He turned away from Gaia and started back out onto the plain, following the path he had made through the deep snow when he had gone out to the airship earlier. Rath and Sapphire fell into step with him, far enough back to be safe from Estel's flailing arms.

The walk to the ship seemed to take longer than it actually did. Estel's protests and struggles did not lessen, if anything growing more vehement the further the companions got from Gaia's gates. Cen stoically ignored him, as did Rath, but Sapphire continued to look distressed, and she started glancing over her shoulder at the city just as Estel had been doing. Finally, however, the group reached the _Phaëton_, crouched in the middle of a ring of snowdrifts. Cen had cleared the entrance to the hold, and the gangway lay open, waiting for them. Cen entered first with Estel, and the others followed him, up through the hold and out onto the deck. Snow lay drifted across the red-brown boards, as the NulFrost barrier had been down with the ship off, but Cen had beaten most of the icicles off the propellers and unearthed the levistone, so the ship would be capable of flight.

Not trusting Estel to stay when set down, Cen nodded for Rath to take the helm. Rath obliged, taking his place at the levistone. He shut the gangway, activated the NulGale and NulFrost shields, then set the ship in motion: the deck began to vibrate as the engine churned to life, the propellers shuddered into motion and shook the last bits of ice off their supporting wires, and the _Phaëton_ rose into the pale blue sky, leaving snowbound Gaia behind in the valley.

Only now did Cen release Estel. The young man had stopped his thrashing, instead growing unpleasantly quiet. Cen set Estel on his feet and gave him a look both stern and sympathetic as he straightened up. He started to say something, but Estel did not wait to hear him; he just turned and bolted into the cabins. A moment later, the others heard a door inside slam.

Sapphire started after him at once, but Cen caught her by the arm and stopped her.

"Don't," he said. "He needs a minute to himself."

"But—"

"Later, Saph. Okay? Trust me."

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "All right."

The airship rose higher into the sky, and Rath began turning on their chosen course to Onrac. Visible from the new height, pale grey clouds loomed up over the northern mountains; another blizzard was already on the way. Cen walked to the railing and looked out at the view.

"Looks like we got out of here just in time."

* * *

Estel did not emerge from his cabin until late the next morning. He appeared oddly calm as he stepped out on deck and looked around, taking in the heavy grey clouds surrounding the ship. He held his belt of ninja supplies loosely in one hand. Sapphire, seated by the railing with a book open in her lap, gave a yelp of surprise as she saw him.

"Oh, you're awake!"

"Huh? Well, yeah, of course I am." He had left off his bandana, letting his hair fall loose around his face.

Cen, standing at the levistone, looked back over his shoulder at Estel.

"That was fast. Got your head on straight now?"

Estel looked genuinely confused. "Why wouldn't I?" He walked over toward the railing opposite Sapphire, then turned to face the cabins. He sat down on the deck and started going through the little pouches on his belt, his aura still strangely distant and blank. "Where's Rath at? Figured he'd be out here with you guys."

"He's asleep," Sapphire said. She had the hood of her robes up and wore light gloves against the cold; though the ship's NulFrost shield kept out the worst of the chill, it could not completely negate the effects of the high altitude and the season. "He said he would steer the night shift, so we'll only see him in the evening until we get to Onrac."

"Oh."

Estel found the pouch he was looking for: the one containing the little sharp-edged throwing stars. He took them out and set them on the deck beside him, careful not to cut his fingers. After setting the belt aside as well, he removed the little instruction booklet for the items from an inner pocket of his vest and started flipping through it.

"Guess I'll just work on this, then. I didn't get a chance before."

"Good idea," Cen said. "I was wondering when you'd get around to that." He, like Sapphire, had bundled up a bit, wearing one of his winter coats they had bought back in Crescent Lake. Estel's only concession to the chilly weather was to wear a shirt with long sleeves under his usual, worn green vest.

Estel put the book down in his lap and picked up one of the throwing stars, studying it. He looked unusually thoughtful.

"Think anyone used this before? Or did Bahamut just…magic it up just for me?"

"I…" Sapphire blinked. She exchanged a look with Cen. "I'm not sure, Estel. Maybe you could ask him."

"Yeah, maybe."

Estel looked down at the booklet, hunching over and squinting as he tried to decipher the faded writing. He adjusted his grip on the shuriken to match the little diagram on one page, checked how he had done, then adjusted it again. He then looked up, took careful aim, and threw the star at the side of the cabin-house. The spin was off, however, and the star hit flat against the wall instead of striking on a point. It dropped to the deck with a clatter. Estel did not look bothered by this, instead just picking up another star to try again.

"This is different than with knives," he commented to no one in particular.

Sapphire looked quite perplexed now. She closed her book and set it aside, then got to her feet and walked across the deck. She sat down by the railing near Estel.

"Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

"Sure." Estel threw another star; the spin on this one was steadier, but it still hit at a bad angle and pinged off the wood. Estel watched it roll across the deck, coming to a halt when it hit the back of Cen's boot. "Why?"

Sapphire frowned. "Well, I just…after yesterday, I thought…" She trailed off, not certain how exactly to phrase her concern.

Estel just shrugged. He picked up another star, his finger looped through the hole in the center, and checked the drawing in his booklet again.

The day continued on with relatively little change to this arrangement; partway through the afternoon, Estel put away the star-shaped shuriken and started working with the long spike-shaped ones instead, but that was all. Cen kept his focus on steering the airship, and while Sapphire tried to go back to her reading, she kept getting distracted by Estel and his peculiar, subdued behavior. She attempted to start a conversation with him, but he just gave short, distracted answers to her questions, so she gave up before too long.

Evening fell, the clouds around the airship darkening from grey to maroon and purple, and Rath finally joined the others out on deck. He did not speak to any of them, however, taking Cen's place at the levistone without comment. Cen, as usual, took this better than Sapphire did, while Estel did not appear to notice anything amiss, involved in his practice. Sapphire, frowning with obvious worry, tried to approach Rath, but Cen caught her by the elbow before she could go more than a few steps.

"Let's go down the hold and find something to eat. I'm starving." He looked over at Estel. "Want us to bring up anything for you?"

Estel shook his head, his eyes down on the metal spike cupped in his hand.

"I'm fine."

"Okay."

Before Sapphire could so much as think of a protest, Cen had towed her behind the cabins and started down the steps to the hold.

It felt as cool there as it had outside; though the _Phaëton_ did have a heating system, it did not extend here. The rumble and grinding of the engine and the tinny, wet smell of the water tanks filled the air.

Cen led Sapphire through the stacks of crates and boxes, the pale blue lights on the walls making them cast long shadows, toward where he had stored all the food. He only released her arm when they had reached their destination. She stood and watched him, puzzled, as he started going through the boxes.

"Have a seat," he said, not looking at her.

Sapphire remained standing. "Cen, what are you doing?"

"Trying to find where I put that—oh, there they are." Cen straightened up, holding two small loaves of bread, wrapped carefully so they would stay fresh longer, in one hand. He handed one to Sapphire. "I'll see if I can find the cherries too; wait just a minute." He turned back to the box.

Sapphire watching him for a moment, then she sat down on a nearby crate. She held the little loaf of bread in her lap, leaving it wrapped. After a minute or so, Cen straightened up and walked over to join her, holding his own bread and a bag of small, dark red cherries. He sat down on the opposite end of the crate from Sapphire and set the fruit down between them.

"You try one of those and tell me it's not one of the best things you've ever tasted. Go on."

Sapphire took one of the cherries and bit off half of it, mindful of the pit.

"Mm-hm." She nodded as she swallowed. "Yes, that's very good. It's a little bit tart, though."

"They're supposed to be. If you want sweet, you go for the raspberries." Cen took a cherry himself. "I might not like the company there much, but Crescent has the best food in the world." He tossed the entire cherry into his mouth, spitting out the pit a moment later.

"It's lucky that caravan came through so we could get some, then." Sapphire finished off her own cherry. "…Um. Why are we sitting down here?"

"Because you need to calm down, that's why." Cen unwrapped his loaf of bread and tore a chunk off the end. "And that means getting you away from Rath and Estel."

Sapphire sighed. "Cen…"

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to put my foot down. Normally I'd let you get away with it, except it isn't just me this time." Cen took a bite of bread, started to talk again, then remembered his manners and swallowed first. "I talked to Bahamut about all this last night."

"Really?" Sapphire perked up. "What did he say?"

"I don't know," Cen said. "Not exactly, anyway. I haven't been able to figure it all out yet, but one thing I did get was when I woke up this morning, I just had this really strong feeling that I needed to talk to you about this. It's really important that you keep yourself together, not go worrying your head off over every little thing. I don't know what kind of problems we're going to run into next, but you need to be ready for them."

"I will be," Sapphire assured him. "I'm just worried about whether Estel and Rath will be as well."

"Maybe that's why _you_ need to be ready; if you're being brave, maybe it'll help them. I don't know. I'm just telling you the feeling I got." Cen took another bite, then looked down at the light brown loaf, thoughtful. "You know, we should've bought jam. This would be a lot better with jam."

Sapphire finally unwrapped her own loaf of bread; she tore off a little piece of the crust and ate it. "…You're sure Estel's going to be all right?"

"Sure I am. He just needs something to do. He gets that; it's why he was up there practicing his ninja stuff."

"And what about Rath?"

Cen did not answer this at once. He ate another couple of cherries, staring off across the cavernous hold as he thought.

"I don't know," he said at last. "It's weird that he's not in as much of a hurry as usual, but I guess we've all gone like that once in a while. He's better about this kind of thing than any of the rest of us, though, and even when he does lose it, it ends up helping us out. Remember what happened when we were fighting Bikke?"

Sapphire nodded as she ate another piece of bread.

"Well, there you go. It'll be fine."

"If you say so."

"I do say so."

Sapphire smiled, the expression only looking slightly forced. "All right then." She took another cherry. "These really are very good. I'm glad we bought them."

Cen nodded knowingly. "I told you, Cressan food is the best."

"I think I might say Elven is better, but I'm a little biased." Sapphire hesitated, then went on, sounding a little dubious. "And besides…I remember reading somewhere that Cressans eat roasted ankheg."

Cen laughed. "It's not as bad as it sounds, I promise."

"But they're giant _bugs_!"

"And they taste really good. Kind of…" He paused, thinking. "It's kind of like lobster, only more…beefy."

Sapphire pulled a face. "Ew. I'm sorry, but I just can't even think about that."

"That's nothing. You should hear some of the things that Tristan's told me the Lufenians used to eat."

"Not while _I'm_ eating, thank you."

Cen laughed again. "Fair enough. I don't want to ruin your appetite."

With that, the conversation went off on another subject while Cen and Sapphire finished their dinner.

* * *

The next two days proceeded identically to the first; not even the scenery changed much, the slate-grey ocean below and heaps of clouds covering the sky. Cen manned the levistone during the day while Sapphire read and Estel worked with his shuriken, then Rath would come to relieve him once evening fell. Estel remained distracted and rather uncommunicative, and Rath continued not to speak at all. At Cen's behest, Sapphire tried not to let their behavior bother her, and she mostly succeeded, keeping the uneasiness she did feel concealed.

On the fourth day out from Gaia, the clouds finally broke, revealing watery blue sky between the thinning patches of white and grey. With the improved visibility this afforded, Cen, using Estel's spyglass, could see tiny, far-off peaks in the distance in front of the ship: the mountains at the north of the Onracean continent.

"We're making great time," Cen said. "It would've taken weeks to get this far on a regular ship."

Sapphire nodded. "May I see?"

Cen handed her the spyglass, and she peered out at the eastern horizon. She sighed as she saw the small snowcapped points poking out of the ocean like teeth.

"We're practically there. How much longer…?"

"Three or four more days," Cen said after some thought. "Just as long as we don't get blown off course or anything, and I don't think that will happen again."

"Oh?"

"Nope. Haven't you seen? There've been dragons following us this whole time. Those grey wyverns from before."

Sapphire lowered the spyglass and went to the railing, looking around at the thinning banks of clouds. If there were any guardians there at the moment, however, they kept themselves concealed. Sapphire still looked encouraged in spite of not seeing the wyverns herself, however.

"That's good. If the Fiends managed to crash us again, it probably wouldn't end as well as it did last time."

"It definitely wouldn't."

Sapphire closed up the spyglass and returned it to Cen. As she did, however, she frowned as a thought struck her. She walked around to the other side of the deck to Estel, who once again sat and worked with his ninja gear. He had grown much better at wielding the shuriken, and the side of the cabins bore dozens of nicks and notches in the reddish wood as proof. Sapphire knelt down near Estel just as he threw another star; it hit the wall with a little _thock_ and stuck there.

"Do you want to have a look at the mountains, Estel?"

Estel shrugged. "Nah, that's okay." He picked up another star and started to aim.

Sapphire frowned, brow furrowing, and she started to say something, but then she broke off and looked over her shoulder at Cen. He did not say anything or even look at her, but the glance was enough. Sapphire shook her head and turned back to Estel.

"All right. Let us know if you change your mind."

"Okay."

Everything fell back into its usual routine as the day went on. Estel continued to scar the side of the cabin-house, Cen steered the airship, and Sapphire read and talked with Cen. The sight of their approaching destination distracted her somewhat, however, and she kept glancing off past the bow of the ship at the distant horizon. The mountains remained only miniscule pinpricks below the clouds, but they somehow managed to loom regardless.

As evening drew near, Estel put away his work. This was earlier than usual, and it surprised Sapphire; she watched with a bit of a frown as Estel went to put his book and supplies away. As per Cen's request, she said nothing about it, but she did keep an eye on the door. Before too long, Estel returned, hands empty. He walked toward the bow and sat down cross-legged, leaning against the port railing and staring off southward.

Sapphire, frown still in place, watched him. Cen glanced at her and saw this, then he shook his head and sighed.

"Okay, go ahead."

"What?"

"Go talk to him. I know you're not going to quit moping until you do."

Not bothering to retort, Sapphire got to her feet and walked to the front of the ship where Estel sat. She sat down beside him, her knees drawn up and her hands in her lap. He did not acknowledge her, and the pair just sat in silence for a while, staring up at the sky. Finally, Sapphire spoke up.

"Estel, are you all right?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure, I'm fine." Estel did not look at her as he replied. "How come you keep askin'? Why wouldn't I be?"

Sapphire sighed. "You know why. Will you please talk to me? You were so upset when we left, and now you're just…blank. It's making me worried. I want to make sure you're going to be okay."

"I'll be fine."

Estel said this as though it was the end of the matter. Sapphire frowned and turned to look at him, folding her arms obstinately over her chest, but before she could speak, she paused. She relaxed her arms and put on a more neutral expression, then nodded and looked away once more.

"All right. If you say so."

Estel did not reply. Sapphire waited for a moment, then reached up and started running her fingers through his hair, straightening it and pushing some of the loose strands away from his face.

The effect of this was instantaneous. Estel sighed and relaxed, a surprising amount of tension going out of him as he slouched forward. He sat like that for a while, then tipped sideways slightly, resting his head against Sapphire's knee. Sapphire went red as he did this but kept her composure and continued to comb through his hair.

"Does that help?" she asked.

Estel mumbled something and nodded, though not moving his head enough to disturb her actions.

Another silence fell, making the hum of the airship's engine below deck seem oddly loud. Sapphire stared off at the sky again, watching the billows of clouds float by, stained red and gold by the sunset.

A jarring statement from Estel broke the calm.

"I shouldn't have been born."

"What?" Sapphire froze in shock. "Estel, don't say things like that."

"Why not? It's true." Estel sat up, slipping his head out from under Sapphire's still hand, and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "Mom…she told me that when she was younger, she got real sick, some kind of fever or something. The healers said it broke something in her, so she'd never be able to have kids." He started picking at the fabric of Sapphire's robes where it draped down from her knees. "But then I showed up. She said she'd never been more surprised in her life when she realized…"

Sapphire nodded, deciding not to question Estel's sudden desire to talk.

"Yes, I can imagine."

Estel smiled slightly, the most expression he had shown since they had left Gaia.

"She was thrilled to pieces about it. But she knew that, out doing…you know, what she was doing, it wasn't the best way to raise a kid. So she tried to quit. For eight whole years, I got her all to myself. We didn't live great, but we were happy anyway. Just us two, in Cornelia."

His expression grew serious again, and his hand fell still atop Sapphire's knee. His voice gained an edge.

"Then Bikke showed up."

Sapphire, a look of pity in her eyes, took hold of his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He squeezed back in response.

"He wanted to take her away. Said he wanted her to come back to work. She said she didn't do that anymore, that she had a family now. Bikke looks at me and says, 'Well, we can always use a new cabin boy,' then he _laughed_, and the crew he'd brought with him laughed too. We tried to run away from 'em, but they caught us anyway. Mom screamed at him all the way while they dragged us out to their ship."

His hand began shaking slightly. Sapphire tightened her grip to try to still him.

"Are you sure you want to tell me all of this? It's upsetting you."

Estel shook his head. "I want to. It's…important." He shot a look at her out of the corner of his eye. "And weren't you just sayin' you were worried because I _wasn't_ upset? Oughta make up your mind."

Sapphire could not argue with this. She sighed.

"All right."

It was a moment before Estel spoke again.

"Mostly we were on Bikke's ship. Things were real bad there. You saw what they were like, a little, anyway. Remember?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, I remember."

"…Mostly it was worse than that. At night I'd…I could hear what they were doin' to her. All the noises, hear her yellin' because they'd be hurting her with what they did. They didn't care if I heard. I hated it, I wanted to hurt them back, but I couldn't do anything about it, or else they'd stick me down in the hold, in the dark, with the rats crawling everywhere and all over me…" He shuddered. "They forgot about me down there a lot. But Mom always came and got me out.

"When things got too bad, we'd try to hop ship when we got to a port, and if Mom had enough gil, we'd buy passage on a different ship, to try to get away. I'd help with that. When we were at a port, I'd go get us more money. We could get away faster that way." He scowled, and his hand tightened around Sappphire's. "But he always followed us. Every time.

"So one time, after a few years, we'd actually got away, and were on a different ship. A trader's ship, I think from Melmond. Mom comes up to me, tells me that she doesn't like what we've been doing lately. Tells me she has an idea."

He trailed off. Sapphire waited, watching his tense features in the dimming light of the sunset. She rested her free hand on his back.

"She says," Estel continued at last, his voice slightly constricted, "that the ship's gonna stop at a town near Crescent Lake. She said—" He broke off and looked away, trying to conceal the tears that had appeared in his eyes. "She said that when we got to the little town, I was gonna get off the ship. I was gonna go to Crescent Lake and find someone to take me in and then I could do something good with myself, instead of getting dragged around everywhere like she was. But…"

"But she was staying on the ship," Sapphire quietly finished the sentence for him.

Estel nodded. "She…told me that she couldn't go, 'cause Bikke'd just find her again. 'It's better like this,' she said. 'I'll be fine if I know you're away from all that.' I knew she was right, really. But I…I still didn't want to leave. I didn't want _her_ to leave. But suddenly there I was, standing on the dock and watching her sail away…"

Blinking rapidly to keep her own eyes clear of tears, Sapphire gave Estel a one-armed, lopsided hug.

"And just now," Estel went on, not reacting to the embrace, "just now…it felt like that was happening all over again. That we were both going away and maybe wouldn't ever see each other ever again."

He fell silent, and Sapphire remained quiet as well, watching him as he stared out at the darkening sky. Her arm tightened around his shoulders, drawing him closer to her.

"…Estel, I'm so sorry we had to leave so soon," she said at last, her voice taut with emotion. "I wish we could have stayed longer, really. I thought it was wonderful that you had found her again after all that time, and that you were both so happy to be together. It was so lucky for you, for both of you. Not a lot of people get a chance like that. I wish…I mean, I'd give anything if I—" She broke off, tears trailing unheeded down her cheeks.

Estel straightened up and looked at her with dismay.

"Ah, Saph…I'm sorry. I forgot, I completely forgot."

She shook her head. "It's all right."

They fell silent again. Estel reached out and wiped the tears off Sapphire's cheeks. She cast him a grateful look, and he nodded and withdrew his hand. For a moment, they simply watched one another with matched expressions of pity and sadness. At last, Estel gave a very small smile.

"Some pair we are, going to pieces like this, like we're little kids or something. Kinda silly, isn't it?"

"Well…" Sapphire thought about this for a moment. "No, not really. If nothing happened, ever, to make us be sad or upset like this, then we wouldn't be able to appreciate all the things that make us happy. I think that would be worse, don't you?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." Estel leaned back against the railing. "Doesn't make it feel any better, though."

"I suppose not." Sapphire paused for a moment, then went on. "It's getting a bit late. Do you want to come down to the hold with me and find something to eat?"

"…Yeah, sure."

Estel clambered to his feet, then offered a hand to help Sapphire up. She accepted, and the pair started, hand in hand, toward the entrance below deck at the stern of the airship.

* * *

_"I have to admit, I didn't think you'd look so cheerful now."_

_ "Whyever not, dear sister?"_

_ "Well, after what Bahamut went and did…"_

_ "Ahahaha…oh, that is inconsequential. So he gave his toys a few new playthings of their own. Let him do so if it makes him feel better. It will have no bearing on the fulfillment of our goals."_

_ "Of course not. But that doesn't explain why you're _happy_."_

_ "…I can sense them approaching. Drawing closer to me with each passing moment. I am…looking forward to meeting them face to face at last. We will have so much to talk about…"_


	36. Shadows Over Onrac

**Chapter 36: Shadows Over Onrac**

"Rath, can you come out here for a minute? We have a slight problem…"

Just over a week had passed since the Light Warriors had left Gaia. The _Phaëton_ now hovered above where Onrac lay, according to the maps Cen and Sapphire had checked. Unfortunately, neither they nor Estel could see if this was actually so due to a thick bank of fog and low clouds hanging beneath them and spreading out for miles in every direction like a smooth grey sea. So, Cen had elected to go ask Rath for assistance.

Also unfortunately, Rath did not want to assist at all.

"How regrettable," he replied without opening the door to his cabin. "You have my deepest sympathy for this predicament, I assure you. Do inform me when you have deduced a solution."

Cen sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Come on, we need your help with this. Do you want to get rid of the Fiend of Water or don't you?"

There was silence for a moment, then the door jerked open, revealing an exasperated-looking Rath, his golden eyes narrowed beneath the brim of his hat.

"What is it?"

"We, ah, can't find Onrac. We should be right over it, but…"

Rath did not look surprised by this; he did not even offer a snide remark. Instead, his expression mellowed considerably, though his hands did clench at his sides. He brushed past Cen and swept across the common room and out onto the deck. Cen followed him without comment.

The airship hovered motionless, its propellers whirring sedately in the moisture-laden air. Estel and Sapphire stood at the starboard railing, staring down at the blank stretch of opaque grey spread out beneath them. Rath went to the opposite side of the ship and looked down as well, his hands pressed flat against the top of the railing. Cen returned to his post at the levistone and looked at Rath as though waiting for instructions.

"So where do we go?" he asked at length.

Rath did not reply. He remained intent on the fog below, though he almost seemed to be looking through it rather than at it. Cen did not press the matter, and Estel and Sapphire seemed to be ignoring the exchange as they too gazed downward. The only sound breaking the still air came from the _Phaëton_'s engine and propellers.

"You were correct," Rath said at last, not turning away from the railing. "We are directly above the town."

"Oh. Well, good. So we just have to wait for that fog to clear, and then we can land, right?"

"Then we would be waiting for a very long time. That fog does not clear."

Cen's eyes widened in surprise. "What, never?"

"Yes." Rath remained silent for a moment, then gestured for Cen to start moving the ship. "We can land on the western shore of the river; the fog is thinner there."

Night had fallen by the time Cen navigated the _Phaëton_ to a suitable landing place: a thin strip of bare land just west of a broad, sluggish brown river. The fog here was little more than a thin mist hovering close to the ground, but it looked much thicker on the eastern shore. The Light Warriors spent the night in the airship, resting and preparing to start the journey to Onrac itself on foot the next day.

The following morning revealed a dreary landscape to them. Westward, the sandy soil gave way to a vast expanse of white: a salt desert. Closer at hand to the north stood the foothills of the Onrac Mountains, low and rounded and covered with heath. The turbid river disappeared back into these hills. This only would have been moderately discomforting had it not been for the utter lack of sound; there were no noises of animals wholesome or unwholesome, no rustling from the sparse underbrush, no echoes thrown back by the hills. Even the river rolled by in complete silence. The air, very cool but not cold, felt deadened and heavy.

Sapphire shivered and took Estel's hand on reflex as she looked around.

"Okay," Cen said. He wore his dark dragonscale armor under his heavy hooded cloak, his sword strapped at his waist. "Lead the way, Rath."

Rath started off down a narrow track without a word. The other companions followed him in equal silence.

The thin, salty soil became thicker and more clay-like the closer they drew to the river, with the shore a thick mud that sucked at their boots, making it difficult to walk. As the other three companions struggled with this, Rath made his way to a pair of tall posts marking the presence of a little dock, the boards weatherworn and moss-coated. A massive, rusting crank stood there as well, attached to a heavy chain that disappeared into the murky water. Rath put his hands on the crank's cold, wet handle and pushed it; it gave slightly, but the motion was reluctant. Rath turned to Cen as he approached, a bit ahead of Estel and Sapphire.

"I require your assistance," he said, with little inflection.

"Sure, no problem."

Cen's greater strength allowed him to operate the device without difficulty. The grinding of the gears and the squealing of the wet, rusty chain moving through the pulleys rent the air, horribly loud after the silence. At last, a shape began to approach over the water, cutting through the mist: a ferry, drawn by the chain. The companions boarded it when it reached the dock, and, with Cen pulling it along the chain manually, they rode it across to the eastern bank.

The fog became immediately thicker, and it only grew more so as they continued down the packed dirt path and into a dim forest. The large, leafless trees looked twisted and unhealthy, aside from the occasional evergreen towering over the others. These sentinals became less frequent as the group went on. The undergrowth consisted mostly of thick, sturdy bracken, the dark fronds covering nearly the entire ground and encroaching on the path. Before the fog grew too thick, lichen and moss could be seen growing thick on the tree trunks. The unnatural silence persisted, sound muffled by the fog and the heaviness in the air. The crunch of the companions' boots on the dirt fell dead, and any attempts to speak trailed off almost at once just because of the sheer insistence of the silence. It seemed to resent being broken.

Rath led the way as the group traveled. Estel and Sapphire walked behind him, Sapphire more often than not clinging to Estel's hand with visible unease. Estel, though hardly pleased by their surroundings himself, put on a brave face to encourage her. Cen brought up the rear, though the precaution seemed hardly necessary; the lack of wildlife persisted, or if there was any, it kept itself hidden. The companions camped on the path, huddled around a small, smoking fire, the best that even Rath could do in this sodden place.

After the first day, the path they followed bent northward, following a course along the base of the foothills rising up to the west. The fog continued to thicken as they went on, so that soon they could see little more than twenty feet in any direction, and heavy, low clouds closed in overhead. Slowly, the landscape began to change. The path became intermittently cobbled, the stones crooked and caked with lichen. Moss hung from the tree branches in long, greyish tendrils; more than once a long feeler would trail over someone's hand or face, causing a brief alarm. And new shapes began to emerge out of the thick greyness, rarely at first, but then more and more frequently: rusty, twisted wrought-iron gates; crumbling stone walls; the occasional looming bulk of a derelict building, half-collapsed and covered in moss and vines, its empty windows staring out at the mist-choked forest around it.

The atmosphere gained a chill that had nothing to do with the damp air.

"Rath?" Sapphire whispered. "Is…is the rest of Onrac like this too?"

Rath did not answer at once.

"…Yes. Though most of the structures are intact." His tone was cool, even detached, but there was a very slight undertone to it that the others could not identify. They refrained from asking questions after that.

They reached the inhabited portion of Onrac near evening of their seventh day of walking. Rath stopped between two pillars bordering the now fully paved path, his gloved hands clenched tight at his sides as he stared around at the broken town.

As he had said, it looked little better than the outlying ruins. The buildings still stood, but with chipped and crumbled stonework. Canals riddled the ground, feeble attempts to channel the encroaching ocean, and the bridges spanning them had the same worn stone and looked none too safe to tread on. Anything metal was rusted, anything made of wood was rotten, and mold and mildew showed on everything in dark streaks and patches. The entire place smelled musty and dank, and the heavy air stuck in the companions' throats.

"It is not a particularly healthy environment," Rath commented, answering an unspoken question from the others. He did not look at his companions, instead continuing to survey the scene in front of him. "You see why I insisted we bring along more of our own provisions than generally necessary."

Sapphire looked around in shock.

"This is _awful_. How could anyone live in a place like this? Just think of all the diseases that could spread in these conditions. And how—"

"I shall thank you not to lecture me on the conditions of my hometown," Rath snapped, the most emotion he had shown since the group had been in Gaia. "We live here because it is our home. We _survive_ here because we have adapted to the conditions and are able to find resources that do the same."

Estel too looked around at the dim, foggy town, his expression almost identical to the one he had worn before when he had been forced to enter caves.

"And it's always like this here?" he asked, incredulous.

"Yes," Rath said. "Always."

"Since when?"

"Since the Shrine of Water sank into the ocean two hundred years ago."

"Where do we go now?" Cen asked. He looked as uncomfortable as the others, but he kept it in control. "It's getting late; we won't be able to get anything done today. We haven't even talked about _how_ we're going to get down to the Shrine." He turned to Rath. "Is there somewhere that we can stay, or…?"

After a moment, Rath nodded and started onward again, the fog swirling slightly as he passed through it. Cen, Estel, and Sapphire followed him.

No lights shone in the windows of the houses the companions passed. No sound of people speaking or moving disturbed the silence; the only sound was the distant noise of waves crashing on a rocky shore, oddly loud in the unnatural silence. The fog pressed even more heavily on the companions as the evening advanced and the air grew darker. Rath did not appear bothered by this, and Cen and Estel tried to appear unperturbed as well, with varying degrees of success, but Sapphire made no attempt to hide her unease. She stared around with wide eyes, her face slightly pale. She kept glancing over her shoulder, as though certain someone or something was about to sneak up on her.

Something small and pale scurried through the dark bracken.

With a cry that made the others jump, Sapphire latched on to Estel with such force that it nearly knocked him off his feet.

"I saw something! There's something out there!"

"Yeah, probably one of the people that lives here. Saph, c'mon…" Estel tried to loosen Sapphire's stranglehold on him. "I can't breathe with you doin' that."

Sapphire did not relent.

"I don't like this place! It's dark and cold and I feel like I'm being suffocated by this fog." She turned to Rath, who watched her indifferently. "Can't we just go down to the Shrine now and get this over with, please? I can't stay the night here, I just can't."

"I would like nothing more," Rath said. He looked like a specter himself, wrapped in the fog with his face obscured in darkness. "Unfortunately, that is not an option. We must wait for daylight before journeying to the Shrine, if only because we need time to formulate a plan to reach it."

Trembling, Sapphire remained silent, her lips pressed tightly together. Finally, however, she nodded.

"…All right. If we have to. But I know I won't be able to sleep here."

The group continued onward. At length, a dull, reddish glow appeared in the thick mist off to the right: firelight. Sapphire perked up a bit at this sign of life, but Rath slowed his pace, dropping back from the lead. Cen stepped forward to take his place. The narrow road turned toward the light, leading across a canal. After the companions had followed this a short distance, a thin, pale figure came into view suddenly ahead, facing away from them. As they drew nearer, their footsteps attracted the figure's attention, and it turned to look at them.

The companions halted. The figure, a woman perhaps in her late twenties, said something to them in Onracean. She had a thin face with prominent cheekbones, a pallid complexion, and protuberant dark eyes. Her dark hair, cropped short, hung loose around her face, and she looked almost painfully thin in her unadorned grey dress. Her strange features and paleness gave her an otherworldly appearance as she stood in the fog.

Rath made no move to respond to the woman, so Cen stepped forward.

"Hello. I'm sorry if we startled you. We weren't sure if anyone was even here."

The woman did not look placated. Her prominent eyes narrowed slightly.

"Who are you?" she asked, speaking Common with a heavy accent. "You are not with the caravan."

"Er, no. We're from down south. We're here for, um."

Cen broke off, at a bit of a loss as to how to explain their presence; Rath kept silent as well, and Estel and Sapphire looked as uncertain as Cen. Luckily, as soon as Cen mentioned 'down south', the woman's gaze became much less hostile.

"Ah! You are from the scholars, then, yes? From Unne and Venture?"

Cen blinked a few times, but then realization set in and he nodded.

"Er, yeah, that's right. Tristan Venture is my older brother."

The woman nodded. "That is good. We have wondered when someone would return. You come to collect the diving machine?" She glanced around, then looked back at Cen with a frown. "I thought there would be more. Unne's machine, it is very large; it will take many people to move it away."

"We're an advance group," Cen said, going along with the fabrication. "To make sure everything's okay here."

"I see." The woman took a step back and inclined her head to him. "Then I welcome you to Onrac. I am Diona."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Cen Venture. This is my brother Estel, and Sapphire of Cornelia. And this is…" Cen trailed off as he reached the silent mage.

"Rath," came the quiet answer, and Rath did not look up from his study of the lopsided cobbles as he gave it. "Also of Cornelia."

"You need places to sleep," Diona said. "I will show you to the shelter tonight. Later, when others arrive, we can make places there for them."

"Shelter?" Sapphire asked, as the group followed Diona down the road.

"Yes. Fog and salt eat the stone here; when houses fall, their families come to stay at the shelter until new houses are ready for them."

"Oh. I see. That's a very charitable thing to do."

Diona shrugged her thin shoulders. "It is how we are here. No one else cares for us, so we care for each other."

Sapphire shook her head. "It's awful that no one helps you. You'd think one of the countries to the south would at least try."

"Before, they try," Diona said flatly. "But always fail. No help comes as long as _He_ is here."

The thick, heavy silence descended on the group, more oppressive than ever.

"He?" Sapphire whispered, though the companions already knew the answer.

"The Master of the Shrine. He lets no ships come here. The caravan is safe, and we travel to the desert to trade with it. But it is small, and does not bring much. This we are used to, though. Other countries, Corneria and Crescent, they try to help, but when all ships sink, they stop." Diona gave a harsh laugh. "Perhaps they think _us_ monsters, not Him in Shrine!"

Sapphire murmured something to herself about having a few words with some people when she got back to Elfheim, regardless, but she did not press the matter with Diona. The woman said nothing further about it, and the group walked on.

Diona brought them at last to the inhabited portion of the town. A few small houses stood occupied, marked by the pale yellow of lamp light shining through gaps in the shutters. The source of the glow the companions had seen before was a large, two-story building in the center of a walled courtyard; it looked like it had once been one of the grand manors they had seen, decrepit, on their hike to the town, before it had been converted to a sanctuary for the homeless. Light, seeming unnaturally bright in the gloom, shone from all the windows. Diona led the companions across the courtyard, its flagstones cracked and thrust apart by the dark bracken, and then up the stairs of the house to the front door. She opened it and led them inside, followed by a swirl of mist.

The entry hall stood empty save for a large staircase leading up to the second floor. Pale, flickering light streamed in through the archways leading to two adjacent rooms and provided a small amount of visiblity. Voices came from the two rooms as well, in addition to sounds of movement coming from a corridor in the wall behind the stairs. Diona shut the door, and from the room to the right emerged another woman, closer to Cen's age, holding a rushlight in one hand. She had the same pallid complexion and cropped dark hair as Diona, and the same plain style of dress, but her features were more dull and heavy, her eyes a bit glassy. The hand holding the rush candle lacked a couple of fingers. She asked Diona something in thick Onracean, and Diona replied in the same language. The young woman approached and looked at the companions, curiosity flickering in her blank eyes. Diona spoke to her again, and the young woman nodded and returned to the other room.

"I told her to make beds for you," Diona informed the companions.

"Oh. Er." Cen turned away from the arch, having watched the young woman leave with a bit of puzzlement. "Thanks. I hope we won't be any bother for you."

"No bother. We are glad you come to take the diving machine." Diona's expression darkened. "_He_ does not like this machine being here. Unne and Venture, they went in the machine to the ruins beneath the ocean, they say to look for relics of old Onrac and Lefein. We do not think they return, but they did, with their relics. This is an amazing thing; He does not let those who go near His Shrine survive. That Unne and Venture do so, this angers Him. This machine they leave reminds Him they escaped, and He takes His anger out on us."

She said this very matter-of-factly, as though the wrath of a Fiend was scarcely worth comment. Cen and Estel both winced, however, and Sapphire drew a sharp breath. Rath gave no reaction, staying silent as he slouched back in the shadows around the door.

"I'm really sorry about that," Cen said. "I'm sure Tristan would have brought the machine back with them when they left if they'd known it would cause you trouble."

Diona shrugged. "We are used to storms and fog-illness. These things happen, and we wait for them to stop. This is how you must live in Onrac."

"Yeah, guess so," Estel muttered.

"Come." Diona gestured for the companions to follow her. "I show you the house, and then you can rest. You have come a long way to get here."

Some one hundred people lived in the shelter, with, Diona said, about three hundred more outside in their own homes. Very, very few of the people appeared to be over fifty years old. Nearly everyone shared the same black hair as Diona—a few had surprisingly blue hair instead—and they all had identical blanched complexions: a side effect of living without the sun for their entire lives. More than a few bore deformities or other obvious maladies like blindness or mental defects, like the young woman from the entry hall; Diona explained this as another curse from the Fiend, just like the storms, illness, and disappearances.

"He kills our people, leaving too few here. With too few, these things happen." Her expression became curiously rigid. "My father, he studied this; he tried to help these people and the ones with the fog-illness. He was a good healer while he lived."

Cen glanced at Rath but did not comment. Sapphire's eyes filled with pity as she looked at Diona.

"I'm so sorry you lost him."

Diona said nothing, but she did nod her gratitude.

The entire house, though well-lit, felt damp and dim, and the heavy feeling in the air persisted just as it did outside. The people did not seem to notice, however, instead just going about their activities looking merely somber rather than downtrodden. It was in this that some amount of normalcy, almost pleasantness, could be found in spite of the melancholy surroundings. Women worked in the kitchen, preparing food for everyone and working over a machine that, Diona explained, cleaned the water so it could be safely drunk. A few young men scrubbed the walls, cleaning away the dark mold and mildew that grew on the stone. The older children minded the younger ones, and from the upstairs room Diona pointed out as the nursery, quiet, happy giggling could be heard as the children played.

"This is amazing," Sapphire murmured, glancing through the doorway at a pair of pale little girls sitting together on a cot and playing a game of cat's-cradle. She had finally released her death-grip on Estel. "When we first got here…I mean, I never would have thought…"

"You think we give up?" Diona asked, raising an eyebrow. "Life is not perfect here like in your Corneria, so we should not try to live it?"

Sapphire looked slightly taken aback. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

Diona waved her off.

"Onrac is our home. Some leave, yes. But we do not abandon our home so easily. This is old country, as old as Lefein. We survive, while they do not, because we do not leave."

"We just mean that we're impressed," Cen said. "A lot of people wouldn't be able to live with a…a Master like yours."

Diona lifted her head, a glint of pride in her protruding eyes.

"We are strong. Lefein falls to her Master, but not us to ours. He does not destroy us. The Master, He punishes when there is disobedience and His messages are ignored, but still He lets us live here and does not drive all away. He shows He can destroy, and then lets us still live. This is a mercy to us. We do not reject His mercy."

"What if…" Cen hesitated. He glanced at Rath, who was staring determinedly at the floor, then turned back to Diona and went on. "Do you think your Master is always going to be here? Maybe someday, he'll get…"

Diona's expression darkened, and her thin shoulders tensed. Cen trailed off as he saw this, and Estel and Sapphire exchanged looks.

"This will not happen," Diona said coldly. "Not in my life."

Cen started to ask about this, but Diona's expression had grown so dire that he shut his mouth immediately. Diona turned away and started toward the stairs.

"Come. Ehena will have your beds ready."

The companions followed Diona back to the main floor, Rath remaining unusually silent at the rear of the group. She led them through the archway from which the young woman, Ehena, had come before; this opened onto a good-sized room that appeared to have once been a parlor. A small fire burned in a large fireplace at the opposite wall, and rushlights flickered in holders on tables at either end of the chamber. Cots arranged in neat rows took up most of the space, however. Many were occupied: a few small families, many single men and women, and a handful of older people. In a corner near the fireplace stood four open cots, newly made up. Diona took the companions to these. Rath sat down on the cot farthest in the corner at once.

"Close to the fire," Diona pointed out. "We are used to chill, but you from warmer places are maybe not used to this air."

"Thank you very much," Sapphire said. "We'll do anything we can to repay you for your hospitality."

"That you take away the diving machine is enough repayment," Diona said. "Perhaps things will be some better once it is gone."

"…We hope so."

"When do the others come?" Diona turned to Cen. "Soon?"

"It, er." Cen hesitated for a moment in thought. "It shouldn't be too long. We'll go down and check on the machine tomorrow, though."

Diona nodded.

"I send someone to lead you. My cousin, Kope. He spends much time at the shore." Her tone implied that she thought he spent _too_ much time there, but then she smiled slightly. "He is a very curious boy. Very intelligent. You do not mind questions about your home, I hope?"

Cen smiled back. "We don't mind."

"Good. He will be glad to have new people to ask. He says he gets tired of talking only to the mermaids."

"Well, we'll try to keep him entertained."

Diona smiled a bit more broadly, then looked around at the companions. Estel had sat down on a cot as well and stuck his pack underneath it, and Sapphire had set her pack down on the cot beside his. Rath continued his intense scrutiny of the floor.

"You are tired," Diona said. "You rest tonight. In the morning—"

She broke off abruptly as Sapphire's pack tipped over and her crystal tumbled from one of the pockets. It lay on the dull grey blanket, beaming warm golden light into the room. A surprised murmur ran through the Onraceans, and Diona stared at the fallen crystal, her eyes wide. Rath's hands clenched into fists, and Sapphire's hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh. Oh, no—"

She reached to snatch the crystal out of sight, but Diona moved more quickly, seizing the crystal and holding it up before her.

"This… This thing." She said a word in Onracean, almost more of a hiss. She looked past the crystal to Sapphire. "Where do you get this?"

Sapphire, flustered, could not answer. Diona spun to face Cen instead.

"You have one also?"

Cen remained silent. The others in the room began to approach, drawn by the glow of Sapphire's crystal and Diona's reaction. Many of the adults echoed this once they saw the source of the glow, murmuring rapidly to one another in Onracean, and the parents drew their children back a few steps.

Diona's hand tightened around the golden crystal.

"You lie to me," she said flatly, looking from Cen to the other companions and back. "You do not come from Unne. You are this." She shook the crystal at his face. "The Hands of the Gods."

She repeated this last in Onracean, and noises of surprise came from the watching group. A pair of youths hurried from the room to spread the word. Cen started to reply, to offer an explanation, but Diona turned away from him as soon as she had made her denouncement, instead rounding on Rath. After his first flinch, he had made no reaction to the scene playing out around him.

"You," Diona said. "_Rath_. Stand."

At first, Rath remained motionless. Then, to the companions' surprise, he rose to his feet without protest and finally looked Diona in the face. He said nothing, just stared at her with forced blankness. Diona threw the crystal down by Sapphire's pack and approached him. Her voice brimmed with barely suppressed fury.

"Show your face."

"I would rather not," Rath said quietly.

"Show it!"

He did not cringe at her sudden shout, though the other companions did. Again, he remained silent and motionless for a moment. Then, he lifted his hands to his collar. He undid the silver clasps holding it closed, then folded it down. He took off his hat and dropped it onto the cot beside him.

A flattened, uneven mess of black hair hung above his thin, chalky pale face. His almost fragile appearance sharply contrasted his often harsh, commanding manner: hollow cheeks, thin nose and mouth, hooded eyes underscored with dark circles from lack of sleep. The only real color on his face came from his golden-brown eyes, and though he still kept them forcibly blank, the companions could now see how much work it took him to do so, his slight jaw clenched and the tendons in his neck taut.

Sapphire drew a quick breath, and Cen frowned, watching this exchange with confusion. Estel stared at Rath's face, squinting, and then his eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. Diona, however, did not look surprised, just furious.

"Raolin," she said through clenched teeth.

Rath inclined his head to her.

"Hello, sister."

Diona slapped him, the sharp crack ringing through the room. Rath did not even try to prevent this.

"You dare to come back here! You _dare_! After what you do to us!"

Again she slapped him, and again he did nothing to stop her or defend himself.

"I had no choice," he said quietly. "This is my duty."

"Your duty! This duty you throw away the day you leave Onrac! The day you ruin hope for this city!"

Her rant descended into rapid Onracean, growing more and more vociferous, her face flushing with anger. Rath did not attempt to interrupt her, just listening with his head slightly bowed, his gaze downward once more. Diona drew back her hand to slap him again, but then Estel vaulted over a cot and seized her thin wrist.

"I don't usually hit girls," he said, his expression unusually severe. "But if you smack him again, you and me are gonna have some problems."

Diona wrenched her hand free, glaring.

"Do not interfere! He deserves worse than what I do to him!"

"Yeah, he's got some nerve showing up to save all your sorry asses from that Fiend parked next door. What a bastard."

"You think him a hero?" Diona gave a harsh, flat laugh with no humor in it. "No! You three, yes, you are the Hands of the Gods, and destroy the Chaoses who devour the Crystals. But my _brother_, he is no holy warrior." She spun back to Rath. "You do not tell them, Raolin? You do not tell your friends why you run from home, and leave me to care for our brothers and sister? You let them believe instead you are a great and good hero like they are?"

Rath gave no reply.

Diona turned back to Estel and the others. The watching crowd had grown silent, and those with children had bustled them out of the room. Another crowd had gathered in the adjoining entry hall.

"He left us," Diona said coldly. "Years ago, he left us. After he murdered our parents as they lie in their beds."

Sapphire gasped and recoiled. Cen and Estel stared at Diona with both astonishment and disbelief. Rath himself gave a compulsive flinch, shutting his eyes and clenching his hands. He seemed to be holding his breath.

"No," Cen said at last. "He didn't do that. He wouldn't."

"And you were there to know this, yes?" Diona snapped, her tone caustic in a way that suddenly reminded the others very much of Rath. Tears began to gather in her eyes. "You wake up the next morning to find him gone, and Father and Mother in their beds in pools of blood? _You do not know this_!"

"Rath," Sapphire whispered, her face blanching. "Please tell us this isn't true. Tell us you didn't…didn't…" She could not finish the plea.

Rath swallowed and unclenched his fists.

"…I did not _murder_ them," he said, working to keep his voice steady.

"You _lie_!" Diona screamed. "You do this, you steal the crystal—!"

"I did what I did only to protect you and the others…"

"Protect? _Protect_? You—!"

The front door opened, then slammed closed, and the sound of voices, frantic cries, and scuffling drifted over the watching crowd. Diona looked toward the disturbance, then rounded back on Rath, her expression venomous.

"I show you how you _protect_ us."

She seized Rath's arm and dragged him through the onlookers, who hurriedly parted before them while giving Rath wary looks. Cen, Estel, and Sapphire followed, Sapphire snatching up her crystal as she went. They went out to the entrance hall, where the new arrivals stood by the foot of the stairs.

Two boys, about fifteen and twelve years old, held a struggling little girl by the arms. She could not have been older than nine, her black hair a shaggy, snarled mess, yet she fought so hard that the boys had to use all their strength to keep her from escaping. She kicked and bit and screeched, her brown eyes blank and glassy but her expression wild. Her captors only looked resigned at this. The elder of the pair spotted Diona as she approached and began to say something to her, but he broke off as he saw Rath at her side. His eyes widened.

"…Raolin?"

Rath did not reply. He halted as soon as he saw the three children, his gaze fixed on the feral little girl. His face, already so pale in the dim light, began to grow ashen.

The boy began talking rapidly in Onracean, and the younger joined in once he too identified Rath. The girl just continued screeching like a trapped animal. A sharp word from Diona cut through the chatter, and the boys fell silent. Diona stepped forward and knelt down in front of the little group and started trying to calm the girl; at first, the girl just continued to wail and thrash, but slowly Diona's soothing took effect, and the girl fell silent. Her face became so blank that, had she not been audibly breathing, she could have been mistaken for dead.

Rath just continued to stare. Behind him, the other companions watched the scene with distress and confusion. After swallowing hard, he finally managed to speak.

"Diona. What…?"

Diona shot an acidic glare at him over her shoulder.

"Oh, you are not happy to see your baby sister after what you do to her?"

She turned back to the children and began speaking to the elder boy in Onracean. As the pair talked, the younger boy looked up at Rath and asked him something, his expression confused and hurt.

Rath did not answer, his face going more and more grey. His hands began to tremble. Once or twice he opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped, the words catching in his throat.

Sapphire took a hesitant step toward him.

"…Rath…"

She reached out a hand, but he jerked away, his breath quickening. His eyes darted across his family, then, with a strangled cry, he bolted for the door. He yanked it open and disappeared outside into the smothering fog.

Cen, Estel, and Sapphire stared after him, bewildered and aghast.

Diona finished what she was saying to her brothers, and the two boys started to guide their catatonic little sister up the stairs. After watching to make certain the little girl remained quiet for this transition, Diona rose and turned to face the companions.

"I apologize for this," she said, sounding unpleasantly calm and detached. "You know I do not color you with my brother's crime; that he does not tell you what he did does not make you also guilty. You still are welcome to stay here in the shelter."

"…Thank you," Sapphire said faintly on reflex.

Diona gestured back toward the parlor containing the cots. "Go, sit. Maybe you want to know more about this 'friend' of yours. I tell you what happened."

"Yeah," Cen said. His expression had grown hard. "We do want to know. But I think we'd rather hear it from _him_, not you."

He strode toward the door, which stood ajar and let mist spill into the entry hall. Estel started to follow, and Sapphire caught his hand and fell into step with him. Just as they reached the doorway, however, Cen stopped and looked back at Diona, who watched them with astonishment.

"And if we're staying here, so is Rath."

He turned away and marched out into the fog, his cloak rippling behind him. Estel and Sapphire hurried after him, only Sapphire glancing back into the shelter at Diona and the other Onraceans as they left.

The click of Diona shutting the door behind them fell dead in the heavy, wet air.


	37. Wayward Son

**Chapter 37: Wayward Son**

Cen led the way on the search, holding Sapphire's glowing yellow crystal up before him to give the group light to see. Others might have had trouble picking out Rath's course across the marshy ground, but Cen's sharp eyes had no trouble finding the haphazard route. Estel and Sapphire followed close behind him, not wanting to risk getting lost in the thick fog shrouding the town.

No one spoke. Each of the companions was too busy contending with their own thoughts.

The path led out of the inhabited portion of Onrac to the ring of abandoned houses that the surrounding forest had not overtaken yet. Cen walked along narrow streets where the cobblestones had almost entirely disappeared into the wet earth, through bracken-choked gardens, and into a maze of thin alleys made thinner by the collapsing walls of the buildings around them. And here, in a dead-end created by a heap of moss-covered rubble, the companions found Rath.

He had half-fallen against the stone blocking his way, his head bowed against his arms and his back to the alleyway. His hands clenched against the damp rock. At first it did not seem as though he had heard his companions approach, but as they drew nearer, he took a deep breath and spoke.

"It didn't occur to you that my leaving meant I wanted to be alone?"

He tried to say this in his usual snappish tone, but it sounded more desperate than anything. Sapphire glanced at Estel, who was watching Rath with a frown. Cen, his expression not having softened in the least since the group had left the shelter, lowered the glowing crystal as he regarded Rath.

"Sorry about that," he said, not sounding particularly sorry at all. "But we need to know what's going on here, and we figured you'd rather clear that up yourself instead of letting your sister do it."

Rath cringed, but he still did not turn to look at the others.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I would rather the issue had never come up at all. I could shatter that damnable crystal of yours myself now, Sapphire."

Blanching slightly, Sapphire tried to apologize but could not quite get the words out. She ended up mouthing, "I'm sorry," without any sound.

"We'll start off easy, then," Cen said, again with surprising chilliness. "What's your name? Rath, or Raolin?"

A long pause, feeling all the longer thanks to the eerie atmosphere.

"'Rath' will suffice," came the answer at last. "Raolin has been all but dead for a very long time."

"Fine. Now—"

"What about Tenen?" Estel interrupted, releasing Sapphire's hand and stepping forward. He did not sound as cold as Cen, just slightly wounded. "I remember that name being in there somewhere too."

After a long moment, Rath straightened up and turned around. Out in the fog, he looked even more gaunt and wraith-like, with his thin, hollow face and shaggy, matted hair.

"I'm surprised you recognized me. It has been quite some time."

"Well, you still look about as sick now as you did then, just a lot less sunburned. Wasn't too hard."

"What?" Sapphire looked from Rath to Estel. "What are you talking about? What _else_ is going on here?"

Estel kept his eyes on Rath as he replied.

"Remember when I was tellin' you about the last time me and Mom saw each other? On that ship to Crescent? Well, the ship came across some little stick of a kid floatin' on a plank out in the middle of the ocean. Passed out cold. The crew took him on board, and once he was awake and better enough that he could talk, he told us the ship he'd been on had wrecked in a storm. Everyone else'd died. Mom felt bad for him, so she pretty much took him in for the rest of the trip. Once we hit land, he left." He folded his arms. "He seemed like a good kid. But I didn't figure I'd ever see him again."

"I was just as surprised as you are," Rath said. He spoke with uncharacteristic quietness, and the companions could see on his face how difficult it was for him to keep his previous distress from surfacing again. He seemed to find Estel's digression from the more pressing matter at hand a relief.

"You could've told me," Estel said, a bit sullen.

"I didn't think it would be of any consequence to what we were doing."

"So? I'd still wanna know it was you."

"Hm." Rath almost looked as though he would smile, but the hint vanished as instantly as it had appeared. "Esme told me that in almost exactly those words when we were in Gaia. She seemed offended by my reticence."

"So that's why you were being so nice to her," Sapphire said, her eyes widening in realization. "Because…"

"Yes. I…couldn't be anything less than respectful after what she had done."

"Oh, but it was okay to act like a complete bastard to me?" Estel said with mock seriousness. "Gee, thanks."

"That is because, among other things, _she_ did not believe that a valid method to help me recover was getting me drunk on bad rum."

Estel opened his mouth to argue, but then he stopped and thought about it.

"…Yeah, that was pretty bad. Okay, right, I deserved it."

"Alright, great, what a surprising reunion," Cen cut in. "You two can catch up later. There's kind of another problem that we need to get straightened out _now_."

Rath winced and looked away, clenching his jaw.

"I don't want to discuss it. Go talk to someone else; anyone in this town could give you a more or less accurate recitation of events."

"We don't want to hear what 'more or less' happened; we want to hear what _you_ say happened." Cen stepped up beside Estel, the light of the crystal in his hand casting slightly ominous shadows up on his face. "And you can either tell us on your own, or I can make you do it the same way I make Estel tell me things he doesn't want to."

Estel sucked air between his teeth with a hiss.

"Just do it on your own," he advised Rath. "You're havin' a bad enough day."

Rath did not look at them, instead keeping his gaze on the moldy stone wall beside him. The fog hugged around him.

Sapphire edged her way around Cen and Estel and approached Rath. For once, Rath did not pull away when she reached out and rested her hand on his arm.

"We're not going to judge you," she said quietly. "If you say you…that this didn't happen the way Diona said, then we'll believe you. This is just something that it's very important that we know the truth about."

Again, Rath remained silent. After a long pause, Sapphire removed her hand from his arm and stepped back, frowning in concern. No sound broke the anxious silence that hung over the group; even the ocean in the distance sounded almost inaudible.

"…I appreciate the sentiment," Rath said at last, again making an attempt to sound like his usual brusque self, and again failing to do so. His hands clenched at his sides. "But what any of you think about this is completely irrelevant, because the entire situation is none of your concern. It is…something I must contend with on my own."

"Bahamut didn't seem to think so," Cen said, and Rath cringed again, shutting his eyes and drawing a sharp breath. "This is what he was talking to you about back at Cardia, wasn't it? And what Lukhan and the other sages warned you about. You should have told us about all this ages ago, instead of waiting until now, right before we have to fight the next Fiend, to freak everyone out and make this a hundred times worse than it has to be. Damn it, Rath—"

"If things had gone as I tried to arrange, this wouldn't have come up at all," Rath interrupted, again sounding desperate rather than harsh. "We could have come, done what we had to do, and gone without anyone being the wiser. We would have been far away before Diona or any of the others here realized what happened, and you all would have remained content in the impression that I was nothing more than your unpleasant, eccentric teammate."

"And you really thought it would've worked out that smoothly?"

"…It was a foolish hope. I should have known better, but…the alternative I found too repulsive to consider."

"Good thing we're going to keep this quick, then. The faster you tell us, the faster it's over with."

Rath did not reply, so Cen went on.

"Did you murder your parents?"

A flash of anger appeared for just a moment in Rath's golden eyes, easily missed in the dim glow of the crystal.

"I did not _murder_ them. I already told you that."

"Yeah, but you didn't tell us what you actually _did_ do. There must have been something, or you wouldn't be acting like this."

No answer. Rath seemed to be trying to shrink back into the fog, just as he would shrink into his collar when he was in a crowd. Sapphire touched his shoulder, lightly at first, then, when he gave no reaction beyond a slight twitch, she pressed it more firmly.

"It's all right," she said. "You can trust us."

"That doesn't matter," Rath said, sounding almost angry now. Still, it was a far cry from his usual bursts of rage. "I know what I've done, and I know how you all will react to it; and your reactions have no bearing on it or what I must do about it."

"Tell us anyway," Cen said flatly.

"No."

Cen scowled at Rath, then his expression became utterly dismissive. He shrugged.

"Okay. Fine. Let's go, guys." He turned and started to walk out of the alley.

"Huh?" Estel stared after him with confusion. "Wait, we're just…?"

"Yeah. We'll let him deal with his problem alone, just like he wants." Cen gave a quick wave over his shoulder. "Good luck taking down the Fiend all by yourself tomorrow, Rath. Let us know how that turns out."

"…What?"

Cen stopped at the end of the alley at Rath's stunned question. He turned back to face the others, looking Rath straight in the eye as he replied.

"You heard me. If you're just so good at doing things on your own, then you don't need us to help you fight the Fiend. For that matter, you might be better off without us; we won't be much good fighting underwater, but you would be fine throwing your spells around. Of course, there's the serious chance that the Fiend will rip you to pieces before you can so much as scratch him, but I'm sure you've already thought about that and have a great plan to keep it from happening."

Sarcasm dripped from his words. Estel winced but could not help looking slightly impressed, while Sapphire gaped at Cen, completely stunned. Cen did not acknowledge either of them, just keeping his deceptively cool gaze on Rath. Rath stared back at him, eyes wide and hands limp and shaking.

After a short, unpleasant silence, Rath clenched his fists, and his jaw tightened.

"Damn you."

"Tell us what happened," Cen repeated.

Rath turned his head away, his breath quickening, his hands still in tight fists, but in the end, Cen's threat proved to be too much. His shoulders slumped, his hands went limp again, and his face took on a blank, haunted expression.

"I did not murder my parents," he said. He stared at the crumbled wall beside him instead of looking at his companions. "But I _did_ kill them."

Sapphire drew a quick breath and looked as though she wanted to move away from him, but she remained frozen in place, her hand still on his shoulder. Estel swore under his breath and turned away to lean against a mostly intact stretch of wall beside him. Cen just nodded and took a few steps back into the alley.

"Keep going."

"I had no choice. They were—" Rath broke off, shutting his eyes and clenching his jaw. "It was a _mercy_. I know you can all understand that there are times where the need for that arises."

No one replied to that.

"So what happened?" Estel asked, frowning down at the soggy ground.

Rath had to take a few steadying breaths before answering.

"They went…no, you need to know why first." He swallowed, his thin lips pressed tightly together. "The shard of the Water Crystal…was something of an heirloom in my family. That, as much as anything, is why Onrac wasn't abandoned decades ago. The town knew that, more likely than not, the Warrior who would save them would be one of us. Then, one day…the Fiend's activity ceased. The diseases in the water vanished, the ocean calmed, and the fog began to disperse. It was as though someone had defeated him, but Mother and Father knew that couldn't be possible. After doing everything they could to find out what had happened or goad the Fiend into action, they determined the only course left was to go themselves to investigate. They knew this wouldn't end well for them," he went on, before anyone else could point this out. "We all knew. But the rest of the town…_demanded_ answers. They're too used to things being as they are. Change frightens them more than does the Fiend."

He paused for a moment, his blank stare unwavering on the wall. None of the other companions attempted to interrupt his narrative, just waiting patiently in the dark, cold fog for him to continue.

"I tried to convince my siblings that everything would be fine. I told them our parents were such strong wizards that they would be able to survive and return to us. Diona didn't believe this, of course—I couldn't blame her, because I didn't believe it myself—and Tessea…she was too young to understand what was happening. I don't think Aren and Kaide really believed me either, but the lie comforted them. That was the best I could do. I knew our parents wouldn't return. Saying farewell to them felt like a funeral, no matter how many times they assured us they would come back safely. …I was so frightened for them. But I had to be strong for my brothers; if they saw how I felt, it would only upset them worse. We watched Mother and Father disappear into the fog, and I watched the fog long afterward, knowing they would never come back out of it. …I can't describe how terrible it felt to know that."

Another long silence. Cen's gaze stayed fixed on Rath's face, both their expressions equally detached. Sapphire watched Rath as well, but with obvious distress, her hand over her mouth. Estel continued to frown at the boggy ground, his brow furrowed beneath the edge of his bandana.

At last, Rath went on, his voice just as detached and listless as his face.

"Over a week passed. Everyone now knew that Mother and Father would never be seen here again. The return of the storms, the fog, and the sickness just confirmed this even more. …Then, my cousin Kope found their bodies washed up on the shore."

Sapphire drew a sharp breath. Rath went on without acknowledging her.

"By all rights, they should have been dead. Yet somehow their hearts still beat, in spite of the state of their bodies." He shuddered despite of himself. "I saw them right after they were found. They had not simply been attacked; they had been tortured." His eyes took on a pained, faraway look. "…I don't remember what I did when I saw them like that. Others told me later that I was inconsolable, that it was all they could do to pry me away so they could take the bodies to our home."

All the color had gone out of Estel's face, and after a moment his knees buckled and he slid down the wall to sit with a wet thump on the ground. Sapphire, both hands over her mouth now, had tears in her eyes. Only Cen looked unaffected, his arms folded and his hand tight around Sapphire's crystal. Its golden light seemed weak and cold in the midst of the swirling fog and dead, heavy air.

"We did everything we could to help them after we found them," Rath went on. His gaze, still directed at the wall rather than his companions, remained distant. "My father…he had been our chief healer here and had taken me as his apprentice, so I knew a great deal about tending the sick and wounded. Even with my knowledge, however, this was far beyond anything I had ever seen or heard of. Nothing ever healed. The wounds remained open no matter how often we bandaged them, the broken bones wouldn't mend. Infections started and spread. I did everything I could. Anyone who knew anything of healing did all they could. Mother and Father remained just as injured as they had been when they had first washed up on the shore."

"How?" Sapphire whispered in horror before she could stop herself.

"The Fiend," Rath answered at once. "It could only be his doing. I don't know how, but…as long as their hearts beat, they would continue living like that, in that agony, until…" He trailed off, then went on from where he had been before Sapphire's interruption. "They remained silent and unresponsive during the day, which was almost a blessing. But at night… You heard what they did then, in the Citadel of Trials. You heard them crying and screaming. I heard far more. Every night, I heard them screaming for mercy, for freedom, for death. It was torture for me, for all of us, and continued on for months. Can you even imagine that? Hearing your parents crying out for help, and being unable to do anything for them? Knowing that every night they're reliving whatever horrible things were done to them to put them in such a state?"

No one answered aloud, but Estel nodded very slowly.

Rath went on, and as he did his hands began trembling almost imperceptibly.

"I did everything I could. I sent out messages requesting aid, even though I knew none could come. I searched through my father's books, trying to find something, anything, that could provide answers or help. I would have gone to the Shrine myself had I been able, but I didn't have the means, and the venture would likely have accomplished nothing other than my own death even if I did. And—" For a moment, he seemed on the verge of losing control, his breath quavering just briefly. He finally looked up at the others, his expression shockingly helpless. "I was only fourteen. I couldn't bear torture like this, or watch my parents bear it. But I couldn't give up, and I couldn't show how much it hurt me. I had to be strong for Aren, and Kaide, and Tessea, and even for Diona. So I continued to fight to save my parents, and kept telling the others not to worry, I would be able to fix everything, even as all my attempts failed."

He looked away again, his face growing distant and blank once more.

"I could only think of one other way to…fix what had happened. To let my siblings sleep through the night without being disturbed by shrieks of agony. To help my parents." His shoulders tightened. "I had never thought I would consider such a thing. But what else could I do? So…one night, I took a knife, went into their room, and…"

He trailed off, but he did not need to finish the sentence. Estel's eyes were wide as he finally looked over at Rath, an expression of inner turmoil on his face. Sapphire's hands still covered her mouth, and the tears in her eyes began to fall. Cen let out a slow breath and shut his eyes with a slightly pained expression.

"Oh, Rath…" Sapphire murmured.

Again, Rath continued as though he had not heard her.

"I left, then. I knew I couldn't remain here; no one would understand why my actions were necessary, and…I knew by then the crystal shard was mine to bear. I couldn't fulfill my duty if I remained, and that duty was the only way I could truly aid my homeland. So, I took the crystal and some of my belongings, and fled the town." He paused. "I remember nothing of my flight, aside from rushing through the forest in the dark. I suppose I must have fallen into the river and been washed out to sea, as my next clear memory is of waking on a ship and being tended to by a woman and her son."

He straightened up slightly and turned to look at the others through the dense fog. For just a moment, the helplessness threatened to return to his face, but it just as quickly vanished, leaving the hollow blankness undisturbed.

"There is your explanation. I trust you find it satisfactory enough to lure you back to fulfilling your own part in what must happen tomorrow."

Neither Cen nor Estel replied, the latter tipping his head back against the wall behind him and releasing a long breath, and the former continuing to watch Rath steadily. Sapphire, on the other hand, had tears running down her cheeks and seemed to be barely suppressing the urge to embrace Rath.

"I'm…I'm so sorry, Rath. For what's happened to you, and your family, and…" She wiped at her tears. "Of course we'll be with you tomorrow. Cen, he—" She broke off and looked up the alley at Cen. "You wouldn't really have made him go fight the Fiend by himself, would you?"

Cen shrugged. "He needed to tell us about this."

"That wasn't—"

"Stop that," Rath interrupted, in as close to his usual snappish tone as the others had yet heard since they had found him. "You have what you came for. Do me this one solitary favor now and leave me alone. I…" After keeping calm through his entire narrative, he began to crumble now; he slumped back against the heap of mildewed rubble behind him, his hands clenching as he fought to keep his face neutral.

Sapphire immediately went to Rath's side.

"We're not going to let you stay out here by yourself. It's late, and it's dark, and you've said yourself it's not safe. Please—"

"Pardon me, but why do you continue to think any of this actually concerns you?" More of the edge returned to Rath's voice, but it was mixed with a faint, tell-tale tremor. His eyes narrowed. "The Fiend of Water aside, these are _my_ problems, not yours, and I don't appreciate you assuming they somehow are. This—" He jerked a hand in the direction of the inhabited part of town. "—is _my_ problem. All this…" He pressed his fist to his forehead and gritted his teeth. "I wish I could have avoided all this. I…didn't want to see…"

He shut his eyes and fell silent. None of the companions took this as it was meant: a cue for them to leave. Sapphire and Cen remained standing right where they were. Estel straightened up and glanced over at Sapphire, but her gaze remained on Rath and she did not notice.

"Rath," she whispered. "Please…"

Rath drew a sharp breath, his lips pressed tightly together, then his eyes snapped open.

"What precisely do you all find so difficult about _walking away_?" He sounded more desperate than aggravated now. "Go back to the shelter."

Estel started to say something, but Cen cleared his throat and, when Estel looked up at him, shook his head. He gestured for Estel to get to his feet, and Estel did so, taking a few steps toward Cen and the exit of the alley once he had. Cen then turned to Sapphire, still at Rath's side.

"Come on," he said.

Sapphire shook her head.

"No. I'm not…I can't just walk away—"

"Damnation, Sapphire!" Rath suddenly yelled, but again there was no anger in his voice, only desperation. "Will you for once _listen_ when someone tells you to do something? Why do you insist on being so maddeningly stubborn? Leave!"

Sapphire stared at him, but though she looked startled and was breathing hard, she did not quail before his outburst. If anything, she only grew more determined.

"I'm not being stubborn," she said. "I want to help you."

"You can help me by leaving!"

"I don't believe that. You've been alone for long enough; now you need someone to be with you and support you. I don't see how you could think you could deal with something like this on your own. No one could."

Rath slouched down further, his hands clenched, his unkempt dark hair falling forward to obscure his face.

"_I_ can. The only help I need from any of you is in destroying the Fiend. After that…after that…" He made a strange, choked noise that may have been a humorless laugh. "After that, you never have to concern yourself with me again."

Sapphire's eyes widened, and she took a step backward.

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you really think I intend to return from that Shrine?"

A brief, stunned silence fell. Estel broke it with a vehement curse.

"No," Sapphire said, her tone firm despite how her face had blanched. "You're not going to do that, Rath. I won't let—"

"And again you prove yourself incapable of listening. I told you once: my goal in life is to complete this quest. Once my part in that is complete, what options do you see remaining?"

Estel stepped forward, now looking more resigned than shocked.

"Guess that's why you wanted me to get my magic goin' so fast, huh? You needed me to be your replacement after you offed yourself."

Rath nodded.

"And you've been plannin' that for a while."

"From the moment my knife pierced my mother's breast," Rath replied in a low voice, all pretext of anger gone.

Estel let out a slow breath, and then swore again.

"Stop that," Sapphire told him, without insistence. Her focus remained on Rath as her voice began to shake. "We won't let you do that, Rath. We…I _can't_."

"You will," came the short reply.

"No. I know you don't feel the same way about us, but you're our friend." Her voice shook, and tears spilled across her cheeks again, but her expression remained firm. "We can't let you die now, any more than we could in Jord Cave. If you'd just let us—"

"Are you truly _deaf_? Didn't you hear a single _word_ of what I've told you?" At any other time, this would have been delivered as a biting rebuke. Now, only despair and desperation could be heard in Rath's voice. "My only purpose now is to kill the Fiend! When that is done, there will be no reason for me to continue living!"

"What about your family?"

"You saw yourself they would be glad to be rid of me! After what I did—" Rath broke off with a shudder. "After what I've done to them, I can't blame them in the least."

"You were just trying—"

"It doesn't matter what I was _trying_ to do! They only see me as a murderer who has doomed our home, and a coward who flees his duty! I…I am worse than that, now… Oh gods…"

Rath sank to his knees, the boggy ground soaking his robes. His breathing became ragged and uneven.

"I thought I could help. I thought I would be able to protect them. But I couldn't. I haven't. All I've done—" He broke off, breathing hard, and when he went on his voice shook. "I've only made matters worse. Didn't you see the way they looked at me? Didn't you see her face, see the state she was in? I did that. I did that to her!" He let out a choked breath, and the other companions realized he was crying.

Sapphire tried to speak, to say something to reassure him, but could not, her own distress choking off her voice. Cen took a step backward, a flat, uncomfortable look creeping onto his face. Estel still looked only resigned, his shoulders slumped. He swore very quietly under his breath.

"Everything," Rath said, and now his tears were clearly audible in his voice, "everything, _everyone_, I touch…is ruined. No matter what I want, all I do is destroy the things I care about." He raised his head and looked up at Sapphire. "And you would force me to continue living with that…with all I've done."

He dropped his gaze again and turned away, covering his eyes with one hand. His breathing became more unsteady as he continued to weep. He said something else, but in Onracean, then he curled up further and began to sob.

Sapphire moved to kneel beside him, but before she could, Cen strode over to her, grabbed her by the arm, and started dragging her out of the alley. She stared at him in shock and tried to pull away.

"Cen, what are you—?"

"We're leaving," Cen said. His tone had become icy cold, and that startled Sapphire out of her attempts to escape his grip. "Come on, Estel."

He left without waiting for a reply, leaving Estel standing in the dark, foggy alleyway with Rath. Estel half-turned to follow him, then hesitated and looked back over his shoulder toward Rath's huddled silhouette. He started to say something, then stopped, shook his head, and hurried after Cen and Sapphire.

They had scarcely gone a dozen paces down the path outside before Sapphire renewed her struggles to free herself.

"Cen, let go of me! We can't just leave him there like that!"

"Oh yeah? Looks to me like that's exactly what we _are_ doing."

"What's gotten into you? You're the one who's always sticking up for him! Why are you acting like this now?"

"Because I was actually listening, unlike you two."

"Hey, I was listening," Estel protested, navigating the uneven cobbles just behind Cen and Sapphire. Neither of them acknowledged him, though, Cen's hard gaze staying on the dense fog before him, Sapphire staring in astonishment at the back of his head.

"What? Cen, no, you stop this _immediately_."

Sapphire dug her heels into the ground. This did nothing to slow Cen at first, but then she caught on the edge of a large cobblestone, and that jerked him to a halt. Cen rounded on Sapphire and looked as though he would pick her up and carry her, but then Estel intervened, pulling Sapphire's arm free and drawing her away from Cen.

"Not cool," he said flatly. "What the hell's your problem?"

Cen scowled, the crystal he clutched casting hazy shadows up on his face.

"Am I seriously the only one here who has a problem with the fact that we've been traveling around with a murderer all this time?"

"Come on, you can't really call it that," Estel said, though he did not sound entirely certain himself.

"It wasn't his fault," Sapphire said, her voice quiet and trembling.

Cen's expression just became more stony. "Guess I am. I can't believe _I'm_ the only one being smart about this. We're supposed to be the ones who go around saving people, and then we find out about him doing this."

"…We've killed people before," Sapphire whispered. She sounded a bit sick as she said it. "In Pravoka, remember?"

"That was different."

"No, it isn't. Monsters and the Fiends are one thing, but we aren't free to go around killing people just because we're the heroes. Even if they are people like those pirates. It makes us no better than they are."

"So then why are you okay with what Rath just told us?" Cen asked, giving Sapphire a dull, flat look.

"I'm not okay with it." Sapphire sounded on the verge of tears again. "I'm just saying that if you're angry at him, then you should be angry at yourself and Estel too."

"She's got a point," Estel said, shooting an apologetic look at Cen. "Besides, the guy feels rotten enough about everything. He doesn't need us makin' it even worse."

"We can't make him deal with this alone," Sapphire went on. "We _can't_. He needs our help, and we know it. Bahamut and the sages all said so. We can't ignore what they told us, and not just because they said our quest would be in trouble if we did."

"Because we're friends, right?" The biting sarcasm in Cen's voice made Sapphire cringe. "Yeah, fine, I'll buy that. Except it won't matter after this, because he's going to be dead tomorrow. Huh." He tapped his chin in mock-thoughtfulness. "You'd think they would've seen that coming."

"That's not funny," Sapphire said, both stern and teary. "That's not funny at all. How can you joke about something like this?"

"Because, surprise, _I don't care_. Neither of you should, either. He even said so, if you'd actually paid attention."

"Of course we care!"

"Yeah, of course." Estel frowned at Cen. "Seriously, why are you being such an asshole all of a sudden? You're the one who's been tryin' to get _us_ to get along with Rath all this time, and now you're flippin' out on him like this?"

"Oh, come on, Estel," Cen said with some heat. "You know you'd be on my side here if you hadn't found out you'd known him before."

"How'd this turn into taking sides? I'm not sayin' what he did was good, but that doesn't mean I have to say you got a right to stand there and rip on him about it."

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say."

"I can't _believe_ you." Sapphire's angry whisper pierced through the fog with surprising force. "Rath is tortured with guilt and heartbreak over what's happened and what he's done, and when we should be trying to help him, all you're doing is saying how you think he deserves it. That he deserves all these horrible things that have happened to him."

"I'm just being honest," Cen snapped back. "If you don't like it, that's your problem, not mine." He tossed Sapphire's crystal to the ground at her feet. It lay on the mossy stones, gleaming feebly through the dense fog. "Here. You two can go back and watch him blubber if you want. I'm going back to the shelter to get some sleep; in case you'd forgot, we have to kill a Fiend tomorrow."

Cen stormed off into the fog, his cloak rippling behind him. Estel and Sapphire watched him go in silence, Estel still with his arm protectively around Sapphire. As soon as Cen had passed out of sight, the sound of his boots on the cobbles fading into nothingness, Sapphire turned to Estel and clung to him, burying her face against his shoulder.

"Oh, Estel, what are we going to do?"

Estel held her close, resting his head against hers. He glanced back toward where they had left Rath, then forward to where Cen had disappeared.

"…I don't know, Saph."


	38. The Abysmal Sea

**Chapter 38: The Abysmal Sea**

The next morning dawned very dismal, the air cold and still, the low, heavy clouds still in place and a morose drizzle falling from them. Estel and Sapphire woke to find that Rath had returned at some point during the night; he sat on his cot with his back against the wall, his hat and collar once again in place. He stared down at his lap, his hands clenched against his blankets, and did not appear to notice when his two companions rose. Cen, meanwhile, had relocated his things to the opposite side of the room when he had come back the night before, as far from Rath and the others as possible. He was already putting on his armor when Estel and Sapphire woke, and he ignored both of them when they came over to talk to him.

None of the Onraceans saw the companions off from the shelter, though Sapphire thought she glimpsed some children peeking out the upper windows. Going in silence, the group turned eastward, following the ill-kept streets toward the ocean. Before too long, their path merged into a wider street, bordered by crooked, mossy columns, leading from the center of Onrac to where the Shrine of Water had stood before the Fiend had come. In centuries past, the wide promenade had been trodden daily by hundreds of people going to and from the Shrine to pray, and to study, because the Shrine of Water had long been associated with intelligence and learning. When the Shrine sank, however, the walkway fell into disrepair and decay, just like everything else in Onrac.

Rath led the way, his eyes forcibly emotionless as though he was compensating for his outburst the previous evening. Behind him walked Estel, his twin katana strapped across his back and the bottle of oxyale in one hand. Sapphire walked beside him, her hair bound back in a tight braid. Last came Cen, impressively armored in his dark dragonscale mail, his helmet on his head and his hand resting on the hilt of his gleaming sword. Though the group walked with determination, the mood from the previous day lingered over them, depressing their will as much as the deadened feeling in the air did.

The street ended at a small bay that was somewhat sheltered by an ancient jetty. All that remained of the stone causeway that had linked the Shrine to the mainland was a short jut of rock, supplemented by lengths of half-rotten wood to make a sort of patchwork pier. Attached to this was something much newer-looking and far better constructed: a metal crane rigged with chains and holding a peculiar vehicle aloft over the foaming water just off the end of the pier. It looked something like a metal barrel, albeit one large enough to hold all the companions with room to spare, with fins and a large propeller protruding from the aft. The front had a thick domed window so the occupants could see outside as they travelled. On the bottom was a hatch; it already stood open, and a retractable set of metal stairs hung from it, the lowest one just a few inches away from the side of the pier. On the side of the vessel in peeling paint were the crests of Crescent and Cornelia.

Rath stepped onto the rickety pier, which creaked in protest, and approached the submersible device to inspect it. After a few seconds to make sure the pier would not fall apart under the weight, Estel and Sapphire followed him. Cen remained on the shore, watching.

"How are we going to get down there anyway? It's not like any of us knows how to use that thing."

Rath and Sapphire both completely ignored this comment, though for different reasons. Estel just looked back at Cen and shrugged. Cen paid as much attention to this as the others had to him.

After a brief inspection, Rath stepped onto the metal ladder leading into the submersible, his hand on the bottom of the hull to steady himself. He climbed the steps and entered the vessel. The others waited for a minute, and when he did not re-emerge, they followed him. Cen, coming last, pulled up the stairs behind him and shut the hatch.

The submersible was not quite as large inside as it had appeared from the exterior, but there was still enough room for the four Warriors. The seats were set into the walls, with straps to hold their occupants in place; only one seat stood free, directly before the complicated-looking control array at the front. Rath sat there, looking over the massive number of switches, levers, and wheels. Each control had a small note beside it, the writing on them in the fluid Onracean script. Rath took the note off what appeared to be the main steering wheel and looked at it.

"Kope," he murmured. "He must have been fascinated by this…"

He put the note back in place and read over the others.

"Well?" Estel said after a while, trying to sound as off-hand as possible. "Are you gonna be able to make this thing go?"

Rath remained silent for a moment, perusing the notes a second time.

"I believe so." He touched one of the notes lightly. "It was fortunate these were here. Thank my cousin for me when you return to the surface."

Sapphire opened her mouth to say something with a look of distress, but Estel put his hand on her arm and shook his head. She exchanged a look with him, then stared down at the floor. On the opposite side of the cockpit, Cen rolled his eyes and turned away toward the stern.

Rath did not hurry his minute inspection of the submersible's controls; even the slightest error could be disasterous. Once he was satisfied that he understood the controls as well as he could, he set to work, and Cen, Estel, and Sapphire chose seats along the riveted metal bulkhead and strapped themselves in. Throwing a few switches and twisting a valve started the vessel's engine, which produced a rattling, high-pitched hum that made the floor vibrate. Rath pulled a chain hanging from the ceiling, and with a jolt, the submersible disengaged from the crane and splashed into the choppy water of the bay. It bobbed there for a few moments as Rath worked at the controls, and then the propeller at the rear came to life with a low, grinding clank, and the vessel began to move forward. Once it had left the protection of the jetty, Rath pulled a lever, there came another clank and a thud from the stern of the vessel, and then it sank beneath the waves.

The light coming in through the large porthole took on a wavering quality as it became filtered by the water. For a short distance, the submersible followed a trail of large stone blocks and shattered columns, then the ocean floor abruptly fell away, leaving a gaping, dark blue abyss. The vessel continued straight out into the open water until Rath adjusted the controls; then, after some alarming shaking and loud clanks, it began to descend into the depths.

Though the water grew murky, it remained surprisingly light: a pale, sickly glow emanated from below. In the strange luminescence, the half-guessed forms of sahagin and sharks lurked just out of eyeshot. The submersible descended fifty feet, one hundred, one-fifty…and something loomed into view ahead.

A titanic building, five stories tall, an elaborate construction of pillars and archways and wide promenades, emerged from the gloom. The companions peered out the porthole to watch as they approached it. Even as it stood, it was an impressive sight, though many of the walls had fallen away and one entire wing had broken off and now lay in a convoluted pile of rubble beside the main structure. The greenish glow originated here, coming from bioluminescent algae growing on the stone. Across the sea floor around the Shrine stretched what looked, at a distance, like a forest of waving seaweed. As the companions drew closer, however, they could see that it was not any kind of plant or algae swaying in the water beneath them.

A grove of human bodies bobbed and drifted in the lethargic current.

Some had clearly been there for decades and were now little more than bare skeletons. Some were newer, and around these clustered swarms of aquatic life, biting and pinching away pieces of flesh and cloth. All had been laid out in a regular pattern, as some obscene trophy case for the Fiend to display his victims. Most disturbing of all, however, was the way the heads turned to watch the submersible's approach, the eyes wide with startling lucidity, and how those with enough substance to do so raised their arms pleadingly toward the vessel.

Rath's hands began to shake as he stared out at the rows of prisoners.

"Look at them." He did not appear to be aware that he had spoken aloud, quiet horror in his voice. "_Look_ at them…"

Cen and Estel did look, the latter appearing slightly sick, but Sapphire flinched away and hid her face in her hands.

"Oh, I can't, I can't, I can't…"

Estel put a reassuring hand on her back as he continued to watch through the porthole. Cen glanced at them, then back out the porthole, looking uneasy. Rath did not take his gaze from the horrific view, and in fact seemed to have forgotten everything else around him. The submersible continued to propel itself forward until, with a jolt that wrenched the companions in their seats, it collided with the side of the Shrine, crashing through the wall along the third floor. Rath, eyes wide, switched off the submersible's propeller, and the vessel settled down with a crunch. A slab of the floor crumbled away beneath the sudden weight, leaving half the vessel hanging out into open water. Only the continued grating hum of the engine broke the silence now.

"…My apologies," Rath said at length. "I was…distracted."

"Y'know, I don't think we can blame you," Estel said. "This is one hell of a nasty place." He started unfastening his restraints. "So, now what? We drink the oxyale and then just…head out there?"

Rath nodded.

"Okay. Sounds easy enough." Estel finished unstrapping himself from his seat, then turned to help Sapphire, who was having some trouble with hers. "Then where?"

"…I recall reading that the Crystal is on the main floor of the Shrine."

Once Sapphire had removed her restraints, Estel took the bottle of oxyale and knelt down at the hatch in the center of the floor. The others moved to join him.

"So, how do we work this stuff anyway?" Estel asked, glancing at Rath.

"Take a mouthful, and swallow it as soon as we enter the water. It should take effect instantaneously."

Estel nodded and removed the cork, then held the bottle up to Rath as though in a toast before taking a drink. He pulled a face at the taste, then held the bottle out to the others. Each took a drink, with reactions more or less identical to Estel's. As Estel set aside the now empty bottle, Rath, without so much as a glance at the others, turned the valve handle on the hatch and pulled it open.

Contrary to what some of the companions had expected, the submersible did not flood. The greenish water just lapped at the edge of the opening, kept at bay by the bubble of air inside the craft. Below, the companions could see the slab of stone the vessel had broken loose, forming a ramp up to the rest of the floor.

Rath exited the submersible first, holding his hat in place with one hand. As soon as his head was submerged, a trickle of tiny bubbles began to issue from behind his collar. He moved awkwardly to the side, impeded by his robes, then up to the floor beside the submersible. Estel and Sapphire followed him, entering the water with similar trails of bubbles coming from their mouths. Cen came last, looking more than a little wary. As soon as he stepped off the ladder, he crashed down to his hands and knees with a grunt, and the slab of rock shifted under him. Estel swam back to him at once.

"You okay?" The water made his voice echo strangely. "Here, lemme—"

Cen shook his head, breathing hard. With great effort, he managed to get to his feet and begin shuffling up the slab to the main floor. Estel followed him. Sapphire and Rath watched their approach, but then Rath jerked his head around and stared toward the far side of the dim chamber. Sapphire gave him a concerned look.

"What is it?"

"That—" Rath broke off as he took in Sapphire's expression, then he shook his head. "It was nothing."

Sapphire did not look convinced, but she did not press the matter.

Cen and Estel reached the top of the ramp, but while Estel stopped by the two wizards, Cen just kept inching forward, not wanting to lose his momentum. Each step seemed to take all his strength.

The group had entered at the end of a long, wide promenade that ran the whole length of the Shrine. While the outside had managed to retain something of its former dignity, however, the same could not be said of the interior. It seemed nothing had remained intact. Walls and columns had toppled. Cracks riddled the floor, and many portions had fallen away altogether. Blotches of slimy, bioluminescent algae covered the stonework. Dead stalks of coral like skeletal arms protruded in clumps from mounds of debris. Blue and white striped sea snakes undulated around, inspecting the companions in a disinterested manner before swimming off.

"Okay." Estel looked around with forced nonchalance. "So we gotta find a way down. Er." He glanced at Cen. "One that doesn't need much swimmin'."

"I would imagine there are stairways," Rath said, glaring toward the far end of the hall. "Finding them with any haste could be difficult, however."

Sapphire looked out past the submersible, then closed her eyes and began murmuring under her breath. She held out her hands, and a wave of blue light crackling with electricity washed over the companions, fitting around them like a second skin and then fading from sight.

"There," she said, trying an encouraging smile. "Now if something attacks, we won't get hit with our own Thunder spells."

"Great." Estel smiled in return. "Thanks, Saph. Alright, here's my plan. I'll go scout ahead and find some stairs, then swim back and lead you guys over to 'em. That way we're not all wanderin' around lost, and you guys won't have to fight with all your gear so much. That sound okay?"

"It seems our only option," Rath said. He finally tore his gaze away from the dark end of the hall, and he stared down at the floor instead, rubbing his temple.

"Be careful," Sapphire said. "If something attacks—"

"No problem," Estel cut in. "I've fought with sahagin and shit before on their turf; this shouldn't be too different. Anything tougher, and I'll get it followin' me back here and Rath can toast it. Right?" He looked to Rath for confirmation.

"…Of course."

"Great. Be right back."

Estel kicked off and swam down the hall at a brisk pace. Sapphire watched him until he turned out of sight behind a wall, then she began trying to roll her sleeves back to keep them out of her way. She glanced up every few moments to check for Estel or on Cen or Rath. Cen had ground to a halt with Estel's departure, and he now just stood hunched slightly forward and as motionless as possible. Even with the strange, muffling echoes of the water, his breathing was clearly audible. Rath just continued to stare at the floor, his hand to his head. Once or twice, he twitched as though to look up, but then he would just shut his eyes briefly instead.

After ten minutes or so, Estel came back into view. Sapphire, just finishing getting her sleeves to stay up above her elbows, caught sight of him and paddled forward a few feet as he approached.

"Did you have any luck?" she asked.

"No problem," Estel said, sounding pleased with himself.

At the sound of Estel's voice, Rath's head jerked up, and he stared around with alarm. Estel, slowing himself to stop by Sapphire, gave him a puzzled look.

"What's up? Didn't think I'd get back this fast?"

Rath just stared at Estel for a moment.

"That…was unrelated," he managed at last. "My mind was elsewhere. You merely startled me."

If Estel doubted this explanation, he gave no sign of it. He gestured back the way he had come.

"There's some stairs over at the back of the room, and it doesn't look like there's any sahagin or anything hangin' around. Should just be a straight shot."

The group set off through the gloom toward the far end of the hall, Estel leading the way. It was slow going, with Rath and Sapphire impeded by their robes and Cen unable to move faster than a crawl in his heavy armor. They proceded in silence.

The steps Estel had found appeared intact, though the broad, curved passage was dark and littered with debris. Sapphire conjured a marshlight and sent it ahead with a wave of her hand. It halted partway down the staircase, illuminating the way, and the group started after it. While Estel just swam, Sapphire and Rath stayed close to the sides of the stairway, using the balustrade to pull themselves forward, and Cen just continued to shuffle behind them. Each time one of his feet slipped down to a lower stair, it struck the stone with an alarming thunk that made Rath flinch. He kept glancing around as the companions descended, his eyes wide beneath the brim of his hat.

It was with palpable relief that the group reached the second floor. They emerged from the stairway into a somewhat open area that may have once been some kind of foyer. Only a few yards ahead, though, the walls fell away, revealing decimated architecture. An upthrusting of stone from the ocean floor had split the Shrine nearly in half; where the companions stood was just a narrow strip of floor and partial walls along one side of the building. The main part of the floor lay separated from it by a gaping crack and a jagged pinnacle of dark rock.

Estel swore to himself as he looked this over.

"Alright, cross your fingers, everyone." He did so himself with a grimace, then swam off along the only viable path.

It took him much longer to return this time. Cen, Sapphire, and Rath remained by the staircase, Cen and Rath wholly caught up in their own thoughts, Sapphire fidgeting and looking around in concern. She would occasionally turn to Rath, about to ask him a question, but as soon as she saw the tense, darting look in his eyes, she would turn away again, frowning. The muffling heaviness of the water pressed down on the little group.

At last, Estel swam back into view, this time looking far from triumphant.

"Okay, this might be a problem."

Rath started again.

"You—" He broke off, then gathered himself. "What is it?"

Estel shook his head. "The only stairs I could find just went back up. I followed 'em a little ways, and they led into some service corridors or something. Looks like the best we can hope for is that those'll lead around to the other side, and that that's where the way down is."

Sapphire sighed. "I guess we don't have any choice."

"At least the way there is clear. C'mon."

They made their slow way onward, skirting the edge of the chasm splitting the floor. The new stairway Estel had found lay far out of the way in a dim corner, and it had once been concealed behind a door judging by the rusted hinges beside it. Sapphire sent another marshlight on ahead as the companions peered inside. The cramped, narrow stairwell the light revealed went up in a tight spiral. From cracks in the walls, eels peered out, their beady eyes luminous in the marshlight.

"Fun, right?" Estel said with a grimace. "Let's hurry and get it over with."

The group pressed on, but between the awkward confines of the stairwell and Cen's struggle with the weight of his armor, hurrying was out of the question. Rath took this the worst, his eyes wide and darting, and he kept his hands pressed against the walls on either side of him as though to keep them from collapsing. Estel glanced back at the others frequently, checking their progress and trying to look encouraging. Only Sapphire acknowledged when he did this.

After what felt like hours, the group reached the top of the stairwell. The long corridor beyond looked just as unpleasant, dark, and confined, however. The omnipresent algae was strangely absent here, with only a couple of clumps too tiny to provide any illumination. Sapphire fed more power into her marshlight to try to dispel the gloom, but all it did was make the darkness more pronounced. Shadows completely swallowed the far end of the corridor. Rath winced, shutting his eyes tight for a moment and breathing hard. Cen just continued to stare at the floor. Estel let out a heavy breath, then he glanced back at the others.

"Want me to check ahead again?"

"I think we can all stay together this time," Sapphire said quietly.

Estel nodded, and the group pressed on.

A couple of rooms branched off from the corridor, their doors long since rotted away, but the companions ignored these and just followed the main path. Estel stayed a few strokes ahead of the others just in case, a marshlight bobbing over his shoulder. The worst he encountered were more of the striped sea snakes, however, and these more often than not swam away before he could get too close. Sapphire kept an increasingly worried eye on Cen and Rath, the latter looking more and more harried as the group went on.

Another stairwell greeted them at the far end of the corridor, this one leading back downward. Estel had to stop and take a few steadying breaths before continuing, keeping his hands on the walls as Rath had been doing earlier. Sapphire followed him.

And Rath came to a dead halt.

"_SHUT UP!_"

Estel and Sapphire spun around, eyes wide, and saw Rath at the entrance to the stairs with his hands clamped tight to the sides of his head, his shoulders shaking with tension. He shook his head, hard, and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Shut up! Don't talk about that!"

Sapphire swam back to him.

"Rath!"

Rath twisted away from her, his hands clenching tighter.

"I _didn't_!"

"What the—" Estel broke off, staring at Rath, then he shot a disgusted look down the stairwell. "Oh. Funny. _Real_ funny."

Sapphire glanced at him in confusion. "What?"

Estel just gave a quick nod.

"Yeah, that's real cute!" he said, louder now, as he looked around. "We know this is you, you asshole! And you can cut it right the hell out, because it's not gonna work! Tryin' to freak us out too bad to come down and finish you? Gimme a break!"

"Estel, stop it," Rath said through gritted teeth. "That won't help."

"I'll stop when he does," Estel said flatly, then resumed his shouting. "I know all about bastards like you! I'm not impressed! Gettin' in someone's head just to bullshit 'em isn't gonna help you at all! Here's what we think of _you_!" He made an extremely rude hand gesture.

Before he could continue, a deep, rumbling laugh echoed up from the lower levels of the Shrine. The floor trembled, and chills went up the companions' spines.

Estel gritted his teeth as he recovered.

"Asshole," he muttered under his breath, then he turned back to Rath. "He still doin' it?"

After a pause, Rath shook his head. He lowered his hands back to his sides, but his posture remained tense. Estel nodded.

"Good. Lemme know if he starts up again; we'll try to drown him out or something."

"…I doubt antagonizing him will prove beneficial to the situation."

"I won't do that anymore; I'll just talk over him, about anything aside from whatever he's hasslin' you with."

A heavy breath interrupted, coming from the darkness in the corridor: Cen, hardly visible before, shuffled forward into the light, looking pained and almost furious. The stark shadows did nothing to soften the expression.

"Can we get _moving_?" he snapped in between labored breaths. "_Some_ of us want to get out of here and stop suffocating sometime in the next year."

Estel opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, then went on. "Right. Let's go; this bastard seriously needs to die right now."

The group pressed on, inching down the claustrophobic stairwell, and it was with palpable relief that they emerged from it into a wide corridor on the other half of the splintered second floor. Estel kicked off at once to scout ahead, swimming to the end of the hall and then turning right onto a promenade lined with toppled columns. Instead of remaining by the stairs to wait this time, Sapphire and the others followed as far as the start of the columns, wanting to keep some momentum. Though Rath continued to look ill at ease, much of the twitching agitation had left him. Sapphire offered him an encouraging smile, which he acknowledged with the briefest of nods. Cen stood off to the side and did not even glance at the others.

Estel returned in short order this time, announcing that he had found a broad staircase just at the end of the promenade that led down to the bottom level of the Shrine.

"Almost there, guys. Then we can finish off this slimeball."

Another rumbling chuckle reverberated through the Shrine. Rath and Sapphire both winced, Cen just gave an exasperated grunt, and Estel launched another volley of invectives down at the Fiend. The group then pressed on, making their slow, steady way down the promenade. At last they reached the stairway, this one broad and straight as it led downward. The companions followed it in breathless tension, and so came at last to the main floor of the Shrine.

Here, the disrepair was even worse than on the floors above. Ridges of stone had shoved upward through the floor. Nearly all of the walls had collapsed, making it a wonder that what was left could even hold up the rest of the Shrine, and the seaweed, coral, and algae had grown so thick that what was left of the floor could not even be seen. Through the gaping holes in the walls, the corpse garden could be seen swaying outside. The companions tried not to look at that particular feature.

As before, Estel set out to scout ahead, but he returned after only a few minutes.

"It's a straight shot," he said when Sapphire asked what was going on. "I mean it winds around a lot, but the way the walls have collapsed blocked out everything except this one path. All we can do is go along that and see where it goes. If it doesn't end up at the Crystal, we'll have to think of something else."

The path twisted through the shattered remains of the Shrine. Thanks to the ruined floor, the companions' progress was even slower than before, as Rath and Sapphire's robes snagged on coral and Cen's poor mobility made traversing the uneven surface nearly impossible. Estel kept several strokes ahead of the others without trouble, and he scanned the water around them as he went, watching for ambushes. Nothing ever sprang from the rubble to attack the struggling companions, however; even the benign sea snakes had vanished.

Finally, the companions came to a chamber with a sealed metal door. Unlike everywhere else in the Shrine, the walls here were intact. Rath stared at the door for a long time. Sapphire and Estel watched him with obvious worry.

"…Rath?" Sapphire said at length. "Are you—?"

"I need a moment," Rath said. "This is not something I can approach lightly."

"…Right. I'm sorry. When…whenever you're ready, then."

They waited. Sapphire took the opportunity to restore the NulShock spell around the companions, while Estel checked his knives and katana. Finally, Rath reached out and began to work open the door latch. Algae and rust had almost completely gummed it shut, and it was only with Estel's help that Rath managed to wrench the latch loose and shove open the door. Without hesitation, Rath swam forward into the room, and one by one, the others followed him.

The room beyond was large and high-ceilinged, dimly lit by the glowing algae coating the stonework. Though the chamber had once been lined with columns, only the bases of them remained, the rest shattered to rubble. In the center stood a plain square dais, above which hovered the darkened Water Crystal, overgrown by a snarl of thick, brownish seaweed and surrounded by inky blackness.

Estel started to swim forward, but as he did, a deep voice, burbling and clicking, spoke from the gloom behind the Altar.

"Hmph. So there you are at last. I admit, I was beginning to grow weary of waiting for you; I was almost starting to think you wouldn't come. But let me see…"

The tangle around the Water Crystal rustled, and out of it slid a long tentacle, its flesh dull blue and spotted with barnacles. Rath froze, eyes widening and shoulders tensing, as the tentacle reached out to him and flicked his hat off his head. In the murky, greenish half-light, he looked even more ill than he had the previous evening. The Fiend chuckled quietly.

"Ah, Raolin. How good to finally meet you face to face."

The tentacle lifted Rath's chin and turned his head from side to side as though examining him. As it twisted, the corpse-white underside of the tentacle became visible, revealing rows of suckers armed with vicious-looking barbed hooks. Sapphire shuddered, Cen put his hand to his sword hilt, and Estel drew his katana. Rath, however, remained motionless as the tentacle continued its inspection.

"I've so been looking forward to this," the Fiend went on, sounding excrutiatingly calm. "A recent obsession, I'll admit; after all, twenty years is nothing to one such as I. Of course, it is a lifetime to you, is it not? And I know many of those years passed so, so slowly for you…"

Rath twisted his head away. The Fiend made a thoughtful clicking noise.

"It seems you're not in the mood for conversation. A pity; I'd hoped we could speak for a moment before I dealt with you."

"And who says you're gonna be able to?" Estel asked, scowling.

The Fiend laughed again. "I do, naturally. Who are you to think that you can defeat Kraken, Fiend of Water, here in his own domain?"

"We're the Light Warriors, and for your information—"

"Yes, yes, I know all about your little quest. Personally, I prefer this as it is now." The rubbery tangle around the Crystal rustled and shifted. "But that isn't your only purpose in visiting me, is it? I must say, Raolin telling you about what he hopes to achieve by my defeat has to be the most amusing thing I've ever heard."

A smirk became audible in Kraken's voice as he went on.

"I'm sure you find these noble goals, but you won't fulfill them. I've been preparing for this for a very long time." He gestured toward the door. "Perhaps you noticed my garden? I have places of honor arranged there for all of you. Thanks to Bahamut and those other meddlers, I've been unable to kill you before, but they can do nothing to stop me now."

Ignoring Kraken's conceit, Rath began muttering under his breath. Kraken just gave a short laugh, and with incredible speed, three club-ended tentacles shot toward the Light Warriors from the tangle surrounding the Crystal. Lightning sprayed from Rath's hands to meet them. The tentacles jerked back, coiling and twitching with electricity, and Kraken gave a sharp hiss, but he recovered fast, and the tentacles streaked forward again.

Sapphire shrieked and tried to dodge, but a tentacle caught her before she could take two strokes, coiling tight around her and jerking her toward the Crystal. Cen finally gave in to the water pressure and collapsed to the floor, and as he fell he drew his gleaming sword and swung it at the tentacle as it passed above him. It cut the tentacle clean in half, and dark blood spewed from the stump. Another tentacle immediately shot out at him, and lying prone on the ground, he could do nothing to stop this one from seizing and binding him. Estel kicked off from the ground so the tentacle shot past beneath him, and with a swift cross slash from his katana, he sliced it in two. A second tentacle darted out at him, only to meet the same fate. An angry rumble shook the floor, then five tentacles shot out at once and slammed Estel back into the wall before two wrapped around him and dragged him forward to hang beside Cen and Sapphire, struggling to free themselves. Estel's katana slipped from his hands and sank to the ground with muted clatters.

Rath alone remained free in the water. The Thundara spell he had been readying died in his mouth.

"Really now," Kraken said with infuriating smugness as he coiled his wounded tentacles out of sight. "Did you actually think I would let it be that easy for you?"

In a sudden change from his forced blankness, Rath looked furious.

"Let them go!"

Kraken wound his tentacles tighter around his captives, and his voice took on a tone of cruel amusement. "Hm. I think not. What kind of fool do you take me for?"

Some of the anger began to drain out of Rath's face, replaced by dismay as he realized how thoroughly Kraken had the upper hand. Kraken's vicious, mocking tone did not lessen as he went on.

"This might be even better than I anticipated. You have a choice. You may attack, possibly defeating me but certainly killing your friends, or you may leave. Turn your back on this room and never return. This won't be satisfying for either of us, of course, but it would be most beneficial to your friends; if you leave, I will release them and they can depart as well, unharmed."

"You expect me to believe that?" Rath said through gritted teeth.

"Have I given you reason not to? I may be many things you detest, but I am not a liar. If you want to believe otherwise, however, I certainly won't stop you. I'll have some time to get better acquainted with your friends while you deliberate my proposal, and if you take your time, so much the better for me."

"Sounds like a coward's way out!" Estel yelled. "You're too old and fat to fight us, so you're just gonna hold hostages instead! How pathetic can you get?"

"Indeed?" Kraken gripped Estel tighter, making him gasp and halt his struggling. "I'm not fighting because I have something else in mind. Believe me, I could have struck you all dead before you even entered my chamber."

Estel snarled curses at Kraken through clenched teeth. The Fiend ignored him.

"Well, Raolin? Have you made up your mind? Or shall I spend a little time with your friends first?" He drew the immobilized companions toward the Crystal, and from the murk behind it, a gleaming red eye came into view, studying them. "Which of these are you closest to, I wonder? The young woman? Or this rattle-brain who doesn't know when to close his mouth?" He gave Estel a shake.

Rath stared at the floor, refusing to look at any of his companions for fear of incriminating them. Kraken's piercing red gaze turned to him, and the Fiend gave a low, rumbling laugh that echoed through the water.

"You tried so hard to prepare for this. You thought you could push the other Warriors away, so that you would be able to disregard them and do what had to be done. Yet here you are, stuck in the very situation you wanted to avoid." Another chuckle. "You're just too soft-hearted for your own good."

Rath did not look up, his dark hair floating around his head and obscuring his face. Kraken gave a snide little burble.

"So indecisive today. You didn't used to have that problem. I still remember how resolute you were that night. …Do you?"

"Shut up!" But though Rath shouted this, he sounded more panicked than angry.

"Of course you do," Kraken went on as though he had not even heard Rath. "You've gone over that night in your memory more times than even I can count. Every moment is burned into your mind and heart. Was it worth it? A release for two tortured souls in exchange for lifetimes of misery for so many others?"

Rath shut his eyes, his breath quickening. Estel, however, roared in outrage.

"_Shut the hell up, you bastard_! You don't know a—ahh!"

He broke off with a scream as Kraken throttled him, and the water around him began to stain red.

"Your idiocy astounds me," Kraken said dryly. "And given how poorly I think of the intellect of humans in general, that is certainly saying something."

Estel, coughing and struggling to breath, could not answer. Kraken turned his attention back to Rath.

"It seems you've chosen to reject my generous offers. You, at least, could have escaped with your life for a short time, but apparently you and your friends don't have a sense of self-preservation."

The snarl around the darkened Crystal began to untangle, revealing itself to be composed of innumerable cephalopod arms. The scum and silt they stirred up clouded the algae-lit water, and then Kraken heaved his squat, squid-like body into view. Barnacles and mussels clung to his flaking blue flesh in patches, and a slit had torn open along the mantle between his merciless red eyes. For all these signs of age and sloth, however, his arms and tentacles moved with lithe strength as they dragged him forward across the shattered tiles of the floor.

"I plan to plant your family and friends around you; you'll have their condemning stares burned into your vision until long after your eyes have been eaten away." Kraken chuckled. "When I'm done, even those pathetic upstarts you call gods will join them there! How does it feel, Raolin, to know that you have caused the downfall of not only the world, but even that of your very creators?"

Rath shuddered, his head bowed as he hung motionless in the water. Half-strangled, neither Estel nor Sapphire could yell out, either to encourage him or contest the Fiend; and in a preventative step, Kraken began to tighten his hold on Cen as well, the pressure crushing his armor in on him even if the barbs could not pierce him.

"I hope those fools who sent you are watching this," Kraken said, voice clicking and burbling within the depths of his arms. "May this hurt them as much as it does you."

The tentacles holding the companions shot outward, slamming them into the walls; another tentacle caught Rath in the chest and smashed him into the stone. Rath sank through the water as the tentacle released him, but the others got yanked back inward, then jerked upward and slammed down to the floor. Kraken pressed them there, the barbs on his tentacles cutting into Estel and Sapphire more deeply, and the sheer force of his grip crushing Cen's chest. Rath struggled to right himself, but as soon as he did, Kraken slammed him and the others into the walls again. Estel and Sapphire trailed lines of red, and the bubbles issuing from Cen's mouth dwindled to almost nothing.

Rath clutched at the slimy stones, trying to find a handhold to pull himself upright. Kraken reached out for him again, but as he drew near, Rath thrust out his free hand and shouted an incantation. On land, it would have produced a burst of fire, but here it shot a stream of boiling water. It struck the oncoming tentacle, and the rubbery flesh reddened and blistered where it touched. Kraken jerked the tentacle back with a hiss, then shot it forward again, too fast for the eye to track; it struck Rath with such force that it crushed him into the wall, crumbling the stone and snapping Rath's ribs. Rath could not scream, but his face twisted in pain as he sank back to the floor.

As Rath struggled to breathe, Kraken turned his attention to the other Warriors. He buffeted them with his many arms, striking, slashing, ripping, tearing. Red trailed from all three now, and bruises arose livid on their skin. Cen had fallen unconscious long before, his eyes rolled back in his head, while Sapphire cried, too quiet to be heard. Rath, fighting to right himself even though every movement made him gasp with pain, watched with horror and awful helplessness.

"Stop," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Stop…stop hurting them…"

Kraken paused his attack, and in the silence, Sapphire's weeping became audible.

"You had your chance to stop me," he said, and all feigned mirth was gone from his voice, leaving it deep and emotionless. "This is the fate you have chosen for them, and you shall remain miserable in that fact for all eternity."

"No…"

"The only thing that will stop this now is their deaths. Knowing that, do you still wish for a halt?" Kraken held Sapphire out toward Rath and rested one supple arm over her head, the suckers clinging to her scalp. Sapphire, choking on her sobs, trembled in his grip.

"Shall I snap her neck, Raolin?" Kraken asked quietly. "It would be quite simple. Just a little twist, and it's done. That would certainly make things stop, just like you want. Would you like me to?"

The suckers felt around through Sapphire's hair, securing their grip on her. Sapphire whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut, and across the room, Estel gave a furious bellow and went into a frenzied effort to free himself from Kraken's grip. Kraken crushed him tighter without comment, and Estel's struggles broke off, punctuated with the staccato of snapping bones.

Rath could only watch with that same helplessness and shake his head.

"No. No, don't…"

"Very well then," Kraken said. "Now stop interrupting."

He jerked Sapphire sideways and slammed her into the wall, and she screamed and then fell silent. He bombarded the three captive Warriors until they hung limp and motionless in his grip, only the slightest trickle of bubbles coming from their mouths showing them to still be alive. Kraken observed this in clinical silence, then turned his attention back to Rath. His innumerable arms shot out at the prone wizard, battering him and beating him until he could no longer move, then one of the long tentacles darted out and pinned him to the wall. All Rath could do was attempt to keep breathing, the bubbles running from his mouth stained red.

Kraken surveyed the trapped Warriors with cool superiority, his red eyes luminous in the eerily lit water.

"So fall the Warriors of Light." He chuckled, a cold, mirthless sound. "How I have looked forward to this moment. Don't worry; what I'm about to do next won't hurt…though it _will_ make everything you're feeling now redouble in intensity, so I suppose that's a matter of perception."

He drew Cen forward, unwrapping him partway so that he only held him by the leg, hanging him upside down. A low rumble began, coming from somewhere in the depths of Kraken's impossible snarl of arms. Rath tried to lift his head, but even that was too much for him; he could just stare up through his drifting hair, not wanting to watch but unable to look away.

But before Kraken could finish his incantation, Cen's eyes snapped open. He ripped off one of his vambraces, and from a concealed hollow inside he pulled out something small and gold and glittering.

His megalixir.

Kraken bellowed and shot a cluster of arms at him, but Cen had already popped off the lid and dumped the contents into the water.

Instantly, all his wounds healed, and the water in the chamber had been so agitated by Kraken's constant motion that it took only moments for the concoction to reach the other companions. As soon as the slightest bit touched them, their wounds healed, consciousness returned, and the blood in the water began to disperse. Estel and Sapphire shook their heads to clear them, and Rath jerked upright just in time to see Cen snatch his sword from the ground below his head and sever the tentacle holding him aloft. Gouts of bluish blood spewed from the wound, and Kraken screeched.

"Miserable little insects! Are you too stupid to realize that trying to fight me is useless?"

"Save it," Cen snapped as he shoved himself to his feet. "_This_ miserable little insect has heard enough bullshit for one day."

Kraken gave another screech and swung his arms toward Cen, but in his distraction loosened his grip on the others. The difference was slight, but it was enough. Estel pulled one arm free, slicing it open in the process, and in his hand he held one of his long knives; he slashed through the tentacle holding him, then kicked off toward Sapphire and freed her as well. Rath pulled out his small knife and cut and stabbed the tentacle holding him until it was in ribbons and could no longer hold him. As he dropped down to the floor, Sapphire lifted her hand and muttered a rapid incantation, and her NulShock spell washed over the companions.

"Now, Rath!"

Rath began his own incantation. Kraken, a furious blaze in his red eyes, swung his arms out in all directions to seize and bludgeon the companions once more, but it was too late. Rath thrust his hand upward, electricity snapping between his fingers, and threads of lightning ran along the ceiling. They coalesced into a single massive bolt that screamed down onto Kraken.

He recoiled with a hideous shriek, his arms curling and twitching as the electricity jolted through him. As soon as the spell faded, Estel, both katana back in hand, kicked off from the wall and swam straight at Kraken, landed on his blackened, burned mantle, then twisted and stabbed the blades into one of the Fiend's eyes. Kraken swatted him away with a sharp jab from a tentacle. Estel recovered fast and headed right back toward the Fiend. Kraken sent a swarm of arms to block his path, but Estel just started hacking through them.

Kraken's other arms slithered through the chamber, headed for the two wizards. Rath fended them off with blasts of scalding water, and the ones after Sapphire had the misfortune of coming across Cen first. The young warrior stood braced in the center of the battlefield, gleaming longsword gripped in both hands, and tore through anything to get near him with vicious overhand strikes. The battering blows that did get through nearly knocked him to the ground despite his solid stance, and one slammed right into his face, breaking his nose and sending him reeling back several steps; only his helmet saved him from worse. Sheltered behind him, Sapphire immediately cast Cure, and the blood flowing from his nose stopped as quickly as it had begun. Just as fast, Cen stepped forward to meet the next wave of attacks.

Losing one arm too many, Kraken abandoned his defense against Estel and tried to grab him again. Estel just kicked backward and vanished into the thickening cloud of blood and tissue, leaving Kraken flailing wildly after him. Estel darted in and thrust a katana into Kraken's remaining eye, but one of the thrashing arms caught him a blow to the head before he could get away, sending him tumbling through the water to smash into the side of the Crystal. He struck with a grunt and a wince, and as soon as he reoriented himself, he pushed off and swam toward the other companions.

"One more shot!" he called out. "We've almost got him!"

Rath had already started the incantation for another Thundaga. He raised his hand, ribbons of electricity coiling all the way down his arm. Breathing hard, he said something to Kraken in Onracean, then cast the spell.

With this strike, Kraken began to shatter. His tattered, charred arms ripped themselves apart and burst in showers of ashen flakes. His mantle and what remained of his tentacles disintegrated as the electricity tore through him, but as this happened, he started to laugh. He laughed until the very last of him exploded in oily ash. The sound echoed through the chamber for a while longer, and then silence fell.

Rath hung motionless in the water, gasping for breath, his arms crossed over his chest. Sapphire swam over beside him.

"Are you hurt?"

Rath shook his head. He reached into his pocket and drew out his crystal shard, blue-tinted and dun. Sapphire watched him in concern as Cen and Estel made their way over to them.

"Rath?"

"It's…it is nothing."

He straightened up and made his way across the chamber to the tall, dark Water Crystal floating above its altar, its surface riddled with thin cracks and smeared with grime from Kraken's arms. He stared at it in silence, while Sapphire watched him, Cen turned away to collect the vambrace he had removed, and Estel started hunting down Rath's hat, which had been lost in the furor of Kraken's attack. At last, Rath reached up and slid his crystal shard into a small chink in the Crystal; it dropped into place with a quiet, high-pitched clink.

Blue light rippled to life inside the tall Crystal, growing brighter and brighter until it flashed and lit fully, pouring cerulean light into the chamber and dispelling the gloom and murk. The eerie glow of the algae became nearly invisible in comparison. There came another, weaker flash of light, and a smaller crystal appeared before Rath, the light within it wavering like sunlight through shallow water.

Rath did not reach out to take it.

"I would recommend not staying in Onrac any longer than necessary," he said, not looking at the other companions. "Not that the people bear _you_ any ill-will, but I cannot imagine wanting to stay here long after this."

"Rath, cut it out," Estel said. He swam over, Rath's hat in one hand, and fixed him with an unusually serious look. "Okay. We know how rotten this's all been for you. This and everything before. But…look, we can't let you drop out here."

Rath did not respond. Estel sighed, then he reached out and snatched away Rath's knife. At the same time, Sapphire cast Silence, and runic seals appeared at Rath's wrists and throat. Rath twisted around to stare at them, wide-eyed.

"What—"

"Oh, you thought we were kiddin'?" Estel asked. He stuck the knife into one of the many sheaths on his belt.

"I thought you understood."

"Well, that was dumb. Why would you think we'd do that? I mean, aren't you always tellin' us how stupid we are?"

Rath did not reply, just staring at Estel, but then his composure returned and he looked away again.

"…There are other ways."

"And you're not gonna do any of those either. C'mon, let us help you."

"I do not need help."

"Well, you're gettin' some anyway. Grab that crystal and let's—"

"No!" Rath shook his head hard. "I can't…can't keep going on like this! If you had any idea what this was like…you wouldn't force me to continue living! What's the point of it? There's nothing for me to live for!" He seemed to be shivering.

"Maybe we can change that," Sapphire said quietly.

"Let's go, Rath," Estel said.

Before Rath could protest further, Estel reached out, took his hand, and wrapped his fingers around the small blue crystal. There was a flash, and the companions vanished from the chamber and reappeared on the surface, beside the pier from which they had departed.

The sun was almost directly overhead. However, while at the other two Shrines the evidence of the companions' victory had been immediately evident, here this was not the case; the surf still pounded, and the fog was as thick as ever. A sharp, cold wind blew from the east, and the companions gasped at the sudden chill.

As soon as Estel released him, Rath fell to his knees, shaking. The glimmering blue crystal fell from his hand and clattered away across the uneven cobbles. Sapphire knelt down beside him, while Estel retrieved the crystal.

"Rath?"

Rath glanced at her for half a moment before turning his gaze downward. He was breathing hard, his eyes half-closed and glittering strangely; it seemed that his over-ill appearance had not only been product of the poor lighting in the Shrine. His hands clenched against the ground beside him.

"How could you? I wasn't supposed to…I wasn't…"

He put one hand to his mouth as he began to cough. Estel looked, wide-eyed, from him to Sapphire.

"What's wrong?"

The coughing fit ended, leaving Rath gasping. Sapphire leaned closer to him; she studied his face, then pressed her hand to his forehead. She pulled back at once.

"Rath, you're burning up!"

Rath shook his head. "It is nothing."

"Nothing?! I can feel the fever before I even touch you!" Sapphire put her hand to Rath's forehead again. "When did this start?"

"…I don't know."

Sapphire exhaled sharply. "You…you just…you're impossible!" She straightened up and started lifting Rath to his feet as well; Estel moved to help her. "Come on, we're going back to the shelter right now."

Rath tried to pull away.

"No, you can't. I can't…I can't go back there—"

"Yes, you can," Sapphire said firmly. "You can't travel in this condition, and you need somewhere to recover."

"They won't let you…"

Estel shot a dire look up the path. "I'd like to see 'em stop us."

Rath shuddered, but before he could argue anymore, he started coughing again. Sapphire and Estel began leading him down the road to Onrac, Sapphire tutting over his condition and Estel muttering under his breath.

Cen had already gone on, leaving them behind.


	39. Wounded Children

**Chapter 39: Wounded Children**

"…So how's he doing?"

Sapphire sighed and rubbed her eyes, bloodshot from lack of sleep.

"He keeps getting worse. Nothing I do seems to help." She sighed and leaned against the wall beside her. "I don't know what else to try."

She and Estel stood in the upper floor of the shelter, down a corridor leading toward the rear of the building. Diona had protested them bringing Rath back at first, but the sight of the glowing blue crystal in Estel's hand struck her momentarily dumb, and they used the opportunity to carry Rath upstairs and into an unoccupied room near the infirmary. Sapphire had set up her own sick-room for him there and had been doing her utmost to help him recover from whatever illness he had contracted. Unfortunately, almost no one here spoke Common, and Rath certainly would not volunteer anything that would help him survive, so she had been unable to get any information about this disease or its treatment. Rath's condition continued to deteriorate.

Estel rested a reassuring hand on Sapphire's shoulder.

"It's okay. We'll figure something out."

"I don't know. I don't…I'm starting to think he's going to get his wish no matter how hard we try to stop it."

"That's not gonna happen, Saph."

Sapphire nodded but did not look comforted. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes again. Estel drew her into a hug, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm so scared…"

"Don't worry," Estel said firmly. "Hey, come on, you're the best healer I know; no way some little cough's gonna beat you."

They both knew this was an understatement; Rath had far worse than a 'little cough'. Sapphire nodded in gratitude and feigned reassurance regardless, though, and returned Estel's embrace.

"…I'll do my best."

"That's my girl. Hey." Estel waited for Sapphire to look up at him before continuing. "It's startin' to get late; you oughta get some sleep."

"I know. I will. I just have a bit more work to do first."

"Okay. D'you need any help with anything?"

Sapphire thought for a minute, then shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. Why don't you go out for a walk? You can see if things are getting any better outside."

"Yeah, good idea." Estel kissed Sapphire's cheek. "I'll be back in a little bit."

"All right. Be careful."

"I will."

Estel turned and walked down the corridor toward the front of the building, while behind him there came the sound of a door opening and shutting as Sapphire entered the sick-room. He descended the front stairs and crossed the entryway to the main door. A few Onracean children scurried over to watch him from the adjacent parlors until their parents pulled them away.

Over the week since Kraken had been defeated, the atmosphere in Onrac had begun to improve very slightly. The ocean had been calmer, and the ground less damp. The fog had begun to thin, and at night the overhanging clouds vanished almost completely, allowing the moon and stars to shine down on land that had not seen them for two centuries. Much room for improvement still remained, but every little change was cause for encouragement.

Estel made his way out of the shelter courtyard. The sun had set a couple of hours previously, and the fog was almost gone; the only mist came from Estel's breath contacting the chill air. In spite of the bettering conditions outdoors, no one else was about. Estel paused just outside the courtyard and stared up at the sky for a moment, then he turned and started off along the street.

He did not pay particular attention to where he was going, just wandering along the uneven walkways, lost in thought. He passed a few houses with the glow of rushlights shining through the windows, but he passed far more that stood dark and empty. Estel sighed and walked on.

He passed from the more narrow residential streets onto broader ones closer to the waterfront, where Onrac's business district had once been. All the buildings here were abandoned, the need for the businesses lost when Kraken had cut the city off from the rest of the world. Estel poked around in some of the smaller buildings, more out of habit than because he actually hoped to find anything. As he exited one decrepit shop, however, he saw another person making his way down the street, peering around as though searching for something. Estel stepped out of the lopsided doorway and approached the newcomer.

"Hey. You lose something?"

The young man turned to look at him, puzzled. Estel winced, again remembering the language difference here. He waved a dismissing hand.

"Never mind. I'll just—"

"Yes."

"…Huh?"

The young man continued to watch Estel with large eyes the same color as Rath's. Unlike Rath, however, he had surprising blue hair.

"Yes, I lose something. You help me look?"

His Common was extremely broken, even more so than Diona's, with a very thick accent. Still, it was far better than most of the people in town could manage. Estel, after taking a moment to get over his surprise, nodded.

"Sure, I'll help. What'd you lose?"

"My…" The young man frowned. "…aunt-daughter. What is word?"

"Cousin?" Estel suggested.

"Ah! Yes!" The young man smiled in delight. "My cousin. She wander off very much, so I help watch. But is hard to find her sometimes. She is very small."

"Yeah, little kids do that sometimes. But I bet we can find her."

"Yes. My cousin, she never go too far."

The pair started off down the street again, peering around in the dim light. At length, Estel spoke again.

"My name's Estel, by the way. What's yours?"

The young man stopped walking, prompting Estel to do so as well, and extended his hand.

"I am Kope."

"Nice to meet you." Estel shook Kope's hand, then blinked in realization. "Oh, hey. So you're Rath, er, Raolin's cousin, right?"

Kope nodded.

"Yes. And you are Raolin's friend he make, yes?"

"Er. Yeah, I guess so."

"Good."

Kope started walking again. Estel fell into step beside him as he resumed scanning the area for their quarry.

"Er. So, this cousin you're looking for… It's not Tessea, is it?"

Kope nodded again.

"Yes. She is…" He trailed off, his pale forehead furrowed in thought. "I am not remembering your word for this. She is—" He said a word in Onracean. "Is meaning like her mind is broken. This thing, it makes work for us taking care of her."

"Yeah, I believe it." Estel paused, looking around, then went on. "How did that happen to her? Was she always like that?"

"No." Kope shook his head. "Also yes. It was not so bad when she was smaller, but after what happen to my aunt and uncle, it gets worse. Now, she is very sick."

"…Yeah, that makes sense."

Estel fell silent, deep in thought, making only a token effort in helping Kope search. Kope noticed this and turned to look at him.

"I ask you question?"

"Um." Estel blinked, a bit taken aback. "Sure, all right. What is it?"

"You say, yes, you are Raolin's friend. This true, even if you know things about him that are maybe not good?"

"Of course!" Estel said at once. "It doesn't matter what he's done; he's still my friend. Anything 'not good' is Kraken's fault, anyway, not his."

Kope tilted his head, frowning. "Kraken?"

"Him." Estel pointed out toward the ocean. "The monster down in the Shrine."

"Ah." Kope nodded, then said a word in Onracean. He paused, then went on in Common. "That you are friend to Raolin, this is good. He have not many friends here anymore, after he leaves."

"I noticed," Estel said dryly, casting a glance in the direction of the shelter.

"This is bad," Kope said with surprising firmness. "Is not being a reason for people to hate him. I am thinking he hate himself enough."

"…Yeah, that sounds about right. You're pretty smart, Kope."

The young man beamed. "I am a scholar. I learn much on many things. You see, I study Unne's machine and learn how it works?"

Estel nodded. "We saw your notes. That really helped us figure out how to use it to get down to the Shrine."

"Good. Using learned things to help, this is point in being a scholar. This is good I help you, and help Raolin." Kope grew sober, looking away across the moonlight-streaked cobblestones. "He is needing very much help. Always, he try and do all by himself. Sometimes, this is right. But is not right to do all the time, yes? Sometimes it is more right to ask for others to be helping you. One man, he is not strong enough to carry whole world by himself. This will only break him."

Estel nodded slowly. He stared off down the street as Kope was.

"He's still like that," he said. "He was always in charge while we were travelin', and he'd make all our plans and everything. He was real good at it, so we just let him." He sighed, frowning. "I wish we'd known about all this before we got here. We could've been helpin' him."

"I think he doesn't let you," Kope said. "He is thinking he must be stronger than everyone, or he is breaking. I tell him this is not true, is weaker to not ask for help. He doesn't listen to this until is too late."

"Like this time," Estel murmured. He rubbed his arm where it had been gashed by one of Kraken's hooks. Sapphire had been so focused on tending to Rath that she had not healed it, leaving Estel to make do with a potion and some bandages. It was already mostly healed, but it still itched occasionally. "Everyone told him he needed to cut that out…er, stop that," he corrected, when Kope looked confused. "We talked to Lukhan and the other sages, and they told him. We even talked to Bahamut, right to his face, and _he_ told Rath—Raolin that. He didn't ever listen."

"Bahamut?" Kope's eyes widened. "You see the king of the gods?"

Estel nodded. "Our airship crashed on his islands. He helped us out before we left, gave us new weapons and stuff, and really good advice."

Kope exhaled slowly and said something in Onracean in awed tones. Estel just shrugged, looking a bit self-conscious but smiling a little as well.

"Yeah, I guess that was kind of a big deal." He cast another searching look along the street. "Hey, should we be lookin' in any of the buildings? Maybe Tessea went inside one of them."

Kope, coming out of his amazement slightly, shook his head. He started to reply in Onracean, but then corrected himself and went back to Common.

"No. She is not liking walls around her; this is why she run away very much."

"Ah. Okay."

"What is this word? 'Okay'?"

Estel blinked in confusion.

"Okay? That's just… It's just like 'yes', I guess. Or like I understand what you're sayin'. That's what I meant when I said it there."

Kope thought about this for a moment, then he smiled and nodded. "Okay!"

Estel smiled a little as well. "Right. Just like that."

"Good. I am liking to learn more of this speech. This is not a thing we learn very much, with not very much people who speak it coming here." Kope smiled again. "This is changing now, I think. Unne and Venture come first with their machine, and now you come back with Raolin. I am getting much practice."

"Sounds like you're doin' really good with it."

Kope beamed with pride. "I thank you! I am hoping I have more practice, now that you come and mend the Shrine. Maybe people start coming to Onrac again, like it was before the Shrine fall?"

Estel did not answer at once. He kicked a chunk of broken cobblestone along the shadowed street in front of him.

"Yeah," he said at last. "I bet they will."

Kope looked satisfied with this answer. He turned his attention back to his search, scanning the street and occasionally walking off to the side to check down alleys between the abandoned buildings. Estel did the same, focusing on the opposite side of the street so they could cover as much ground as possible. He still had the same thoughtful, slightly worried look on his face as he had when he had left the shelter. At length, when they were nearing the end of the street, he spoke up again.

"Hey, Kope?"

"Yes?"

"If you don't learn Common much here, how come Raolin and Diona are so good at speakin' it?"

Kope grew a bit sober again.

"This is from my aunt and uncle. For them, it is important to teach this speech to their sons and daughters. This is most true for Raolin; they are knowing very early that he is one of you, of Hands of the Gods. It is important he is learning ways to speak so he can talk to you, yes?"

Estel nodded slowly. "Right." He hesitated. "So…what were Rath—er, Raolin's parents like, anyway?"

This actually made Kope stop his search entirely. His expression in the moonlight indicated that he found this a subject of great reverence.

"Uncle Enodel and Aunt Saora…they are very good people. They do very much to help Onrac."

"Diona said something about her dad bein' a healer."

Kope nodded. "A great healer. He does much good for people here who are sick from—" Another unfamiliar Onracean word. "—or who are hurt from Him in Shrine cursing them, like is Tessea. He helps children and women from dying when it is time for births. …Raolin, he learns from his father these things. He is good healer too."

Estel frowned. "I thought only white mages could be healers."

"Ah. No. Maybe people in your place think black magic is only being good for hurt, but this is not true. It is doing as much good as white magic. It is just needing to be used different. Okay?"

Estel thought about this for a minute. "Yeah, I guess so. Well…" He frowned and folded his arms, then perked up as he struck on an idea. "Oh, yeah! Like one time, we were traveling through a really cold place, and Rath used his magic to help keep us warm. Things like that?"

"Yes, like that. There are also much other things. Say, if you are getting cut by something, and then he is using Fire to stop the bleeding. Then, he is making it cold with Ice so it's not feeling, and then can sew it closed. You see?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. Wow, I never thought of it like that before."

Kope smiled. "Then I teach you again! I am doing well with my job as a scholar, with you."

"You sure are. I wish all the scholars I knew were as nice as you."

"All people are different. These scholars you know, maybe they would still not be nice even if they are not scholars. Job does not mean who you are."

"Yeah, good point." Estel rubbed the back of his head, a bit self-conscious. He started down the street again, Kope beside him. "So what about Saora?"

"Aunt Saora is very kind woman. Here, people die very much. Sometimes, parents die and leave children still living. Aunt Saora, she is one of those helping to take care of these children."

"I bet that was hard."

Kope nodded. "She is like her husband, helping many people. Raolin, he help her too. Maybe is different now, but here he is always being good with children."

Estel smiled, remembering a night many months before in Melmond.

"Yeah, he still is."

"I am not surprised. This is something he is always like. You know…" Kope turned to look at Estel. "He is helping with the birth of Tessea. Uncle Enodel, he is mostly doing it, but Raolin assist him."

"Wow, really?" Estel's eyes widened. "Man, I never would've thought he'd done something like that. That's…" He shook his head. "That's really something. I don't think I could be around while someone was havin' a baby. I'd freak out."

Kope laughed. "Being a healer is not good for everyone, yes?"

"Definitely not."

"That is why there are more than this job. So us who can't do these things can do what we are able. We are being scholars or warriors or merchants, or…" He cast Estel a curious look. "What are you doing, before you are Hands of the Gods?"

"Oh. Er." Estel hesitated, for once looking slightly embarrassed about his past exploits. "I was…kind of a treasure hunter."

"Okay. Then, or treasure hunter." Kope smiled. "I think I am not meeting one of those before. Venture and Unne, they come for treasure, but they say this is for study. This is different from you?"

"Yeah," Estel said. "A lot different."

"What are the others doing, before being Hands of the Gods?"

"Saph's a healer, and Cen's a warrior. He was a treasure hunter with me for a while too, though."

"You are all from same place?"

"Er." Estel had to think about this for a minute. "That's…complicated. Well, not really, I guess. I was born in Cornelia, then later Cen's family adopted me, so I grew up in Crescent with him. And Saph is from Cornelia too, but she grew up in Elfheim. Er, hope that makes sense."

"It makes sense," Kope said. "You all travel very much. This is for being Hands of the Gods?"

Estel shrugged. "Not really. It just kind of happened, I guess."

Kope shook his head. "All things are happening for a reason. Maybe is from the gods, maybe is from things like Him in Shrine. But is always a reason. You learn things from travel that maybe you need later, or help or meet person who maybe will help you later. We do not see these now, but when we look back, we understand."

Estel remained quiet for a while, thinking about this. Kope turned his attention back to looking for Tessea, walking ahead of Estel as they rounded a corner onto a cross street. After only a short distance, the street opened onto a square that had once been home to a market. In the middle of the square stood Tessea, staring up at the sky in silence. She clutched a very battered rag doll in one hand. When he saw her, Kope gave a pleased exclamation. He hurried over and knelt down beside her, saying something in a quiet, patient tone. Tessea ignored him, or perhaps did not even notice that he had approached. Her blank eyes remained fixed upward, staring at the stars through the dark tangles of her hair that had fallen across her forehead. Kope did not look bothered by this, instead just rising to stand quietly at her side. Estel crossed the square to join them.

"We are finding her like this very much," Kope said as Estel stopped beside him. "I think she is liking to see the stars. These are a new thing for her."

"Yeah." Estel looked up as well. "I guess that would be really something for someone who hadn't seen 'em before. I'm so used to them, I almost don't think about them anymore. They're just kinda there."

"You know…" Kope paused, then went on when Estel turned to look at him. "Venture and Unne, they tell me that Lefeins are being able to go up to the stars. This is before their Shrine is falling, but is still amazing to think, yes?"

Estel frowned, a little confused, but then realization dawned. "Oh, you mean the Lufenians. Yeah, definitely. I mean, I knew they could fly, with the airships and things, but I didn't know they could get _that_ far."

Kope looked up at the clear sky, a wistful look on his face.

"This is a beautiful thing to see. Always, sky is only grey here; we are not seeing stars or moon or sun before this. I'm…happy for being able to see them now. Others, maybe, are scared to have Him in Shrine gone, but I'm glad. I am liking the sky better."

"…Wait a minute." Estel frowned. "You mean people are _whinin'_ about Kraken bein' gone? They're not happy that they don't gotta worry about him killin' people all the time anymore?"

"This is complicated," Kope said, still looking skyward, just like Tessea beside him. "It is being so long with Him in Shrine there, people are not knowing anything different. For us, he is becoming like our god, you see? Now, this god is gone. This is difficult thing to change. People are not knowing what to think."

"They should think it's good!" Estel said with some heat. "Any god would be better than that asshole!"

Kope shook his head. "It is not being that easy."

Estel fumed a bit.

"It should be. I'd sure as hell be glad I didn't have to worry about gettin' killed at any second because of some god with an attitude problem." He paused. "So who was Onrac's god before the Shrine sank?"

"Leviathan," Kope answered at once. "I am trying to tell others of this, so they look to him instead of Him in Shrine, but it is hard. Leviathan is maybe far away, but Him in Shrine is always very close. You see?"

"Yeah, I see." Estel kicked a chunk of rock off across the uneven cobblestones, scowling. "It just sucks to know that everyone's pissed off at us for savin' their lives."

"Not everyone is angry," Kope said. "I just tell you, I'm glad you kill Him in Shrine and give our sky back. The children, they are all happy." He looked down at his little cousin and smiled. "I think you are even making Tessea glad. This is something that is not happening very much."

Estel looked down at Tessea as well.

"Yeah, that is good. I'll have to tell Rath about that; he's…not doin' real good with all of this. Comin' back here has been real hard for him."

"I know. I am hearing what the others say about this." Kope lifted his gaze to Estel, a very serious look in his eyes. "Please be telling him we are not all hating him. Tell him things are not as bad as he is thinking. …And tell him to not be thinking all is because of him. We know he is not doing these things because of wanting to."

Estel nodded. "I'll tell him."

"Good." Kope looked back up at the star-strewn sky, but only for a moment before turning back to Estel. "I am having something for you."

"Huh?" Estel blinked. "What d'you mean?"

"I am hearing Raolin is sick. He has—" He said an Onracean word, then shook his head. "I am not knowing your name for this. Is a breathing sickness people here get very much. Raolin, he gets this very much when he is young. Maybe you are not knowing how to fix?"

"Yeah, we're really stuck," Estel said, perking up a little. "We try to ask people, but they don't know what we're sayin'."

Kope nodded. "Okay. Then I give you this." He reached into a pocket in his trousers and withdrew two small pouches made of rough cloth. "This is healing plant." He opened one of the bags to show Estel the contents: a number of flat, oval leaves, pale in color with pronounced veins. "Break into hot water, then make him breath the mist from it. It is helping him breath, and cleaning the sickness out of him. Also…" Kope opened the other bag. This one contained a few thin, dark, waxy leaves, almost more like needles. "Press these also into water, and make him drink. It is making the fever and pain less."

He handed the plants to Estel, who took them with palpable relief.

"This is great. Thanks so much, Kope. Saph was gettin' real worried that we wouldn't be able to fix him."

"These things will help him," Kope said firmly. "I am maybe not knowing much of healing, but this I think is very good to know. Raolin teaches this to me after he learns from his father."

Estel, putting the items in his own pocket, could not help but start laughing.

"Looks like he ended up helping us out with this anyway! He wouldn't tell Saph anything about how to fix him when she asked him, 'cause he doesn't want to get better. Thanks for makin' him tell us finally."

Kope smiled back, though with some worry at Estel's mention of Rath's refusal to get well. "It is just taking a few more steps than just from him, yes?"

"Yeah, exactly." Estel hesitated. "Y'know, here. I have something for you, too. To say thanks for helpin' us fix Rath."

He fumbled around in the pockets of his coat, but finally unearthed what he was looking for: his little spyglass. He handed it to Kope, who looked it over with interest.

"Venture is having something like this," he said. "He is using it to look out at the sea and the clouds."

"It's called a spyglass. You can use it to see things that are far away." Estel gestured toward the sky. "Try lookin' at some of those stars with it."

Kope obediently opened up the spyglass, put it to his eye, and looked skyward. After a moment, his eyes widened and he exclaimed something in Onracean.

"It's neat, huh?" Estel said, smiling.

"Yes! Is very much!" Kope lowered the spyglass and looked at Estel with astonishment. "This is gift for me?"

Estel nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, it's to say thanks for helpin' us out. We wouldn't've got down to the Shrine without your notes, and maybe we wouldn't be able to make Rath get better either. So, thank you."

For a moment, Kope looked quite stunned by this generosity, but then he grinned.

"I will take very great care of this gift. I thank you very much!"

Estel grinned back. "You're welcome."

Kope resumed scanning the sky with his new spyglass. Estel looked upward as well, then frowned and turned away. He glanced in the direction of the shelter, one hand on the pocket that held the healing plants. He took a step that way, but then he stopped and turned back to Kope.

"Hey. I oughta head back to the shelter; I need to give Saph these plants. But, um." He hesitated. "D'you maybe want to come with me? Rath might be…well, not happy, but he might want to see you."

Kope lowered the spyglass and frowned down at the uneven cobblestones. His gaze then turned to Tessea, still standing, oblivious, beside him.

"I think I should not," he said at last, not looking up. "I am taking care of Tessea, and it is not good for me to leave her. …And I am not thinking it would be good for Raolin to be seeing her. I hear that this is upsetting him when he first come here."

"…Oh, right." Estel winced. "Never mind. Maybe another time." He sighed and looked off down one of the streets leading into the square; it ended abruptly in a field of rubble and bracken where a shipyard had been destroyed long ago. "Y'know…we've been through some real rotten stuff doing this whole Light Warrior thing. All this, with Rath and everything, is hands down the worst, though. I dunno if we're ever gonna get things really straightened out again after this."

"What happens here, this hurts him very much," Kope said, subdued. "I see this happening, and try to help him, but…"

"But he wouldn't let you," Estel finished. He shook his head, scowling slightly. "Damn stubborn bastard. He better pull through this."

Kope did not reply; judging by the slightly confused look on his face, he did not quite understand all of what Estel had said. Finally, though, he nodded.

"Yes. Raolin, he is very stubborn, but the gods maybe are more stubborn; I think they are not letting him die yet."

"I sure hope not."

Estel looked up, scanning the sky and thinking. After a moment, a movement among the pinpricks of light caught his eye, and he smiled a little.

"Hey, a shooting star. There's something you don't see everyday."

"What?" Kope looked up as well, trying to see what Estel had spotted. "Shooting star? What does this mean?"

"It's a star that moves. Here, look." Estel pointed Kope in the right direction. "There. See if you can get it in your spyglass."

Kope did so, squinting up through the device at the night sky. Estel watched him trying to pinpoint the shooting star, then looked up again himself. A moment later, he frowned in confusion.

"That sure ain't movin' like ones I've seen before," he muttered.

The point of light began drawing overhead, and it seemed to be angling downward, growing larger and larger. Kope, catching it in the spyglass's sight at last, gave a startled exclamation in his native language, his eyes widening. He tracked it as it continued across the sky, the point trailing pale light, until it disappeared over the mountains to the west. A moment later, a brief, faint glow appeared somewhere far off among the peaks, barely visible to the two young men.

Estel stared.

"Holy shit…"

Kope, still gaping, spun around to face him and started to babble in rapid Onracean as he gestured up at the sky and off at the mountains.

"Whoa, hey." Estel held up his hands in a forestalling gesture. "Hold on there, Kope. I can't understand a word you're sayin'."

Kope broke off, having to take a minute to work out Estel's admonishment, then took a deep breath and went on, speaking Common this time but somehow managing to be only slightly more coherent.

"This…this thing is falling, is…this is…" He broke off with an Onracean swear word, then tried again. "This is person! I see, it is falling, it is having arms and legs and head, and—"

"Wait, _what_?" Estel blinked, confusion written all across his face. "Wait, you're sayin' that thing that just fell was a _human_?"

"Yes. No. I am not knowing, but it looks like person. Only, is being made of metal, you see? And it is having fire coming from its back."

"Holy _shit_," Estel repeated. "That…that's just…holy _shit_." He looked over toward the silhouettes of the mountains. "Well, whatever it was, it's scrap now, after hittin' the ground like that. Too bad…" He trailed off, then his eyes widened. "Except maybe not. Maybe this is the best thing ever."

"This is amazing thing," Kope agreed. He studied Estel's face for a second, then went on. "But what are you thinking about this?"

"I'm thinkin' that might be a clue to our next step on this damn quest. I don't think any of us have any idea where the Wind Shrine is, but that thing…" Estel pointed toward the mountains, his expression growing throughtful. "A metal person fallin' out of the sky… Well, it makes sense to me that the Wind Shrine would be somewhere high, y'know? Maybe that thing'll have a hint to how we're supposed to find the Shrine and get this whole mess over with."

"Ah!" Kope's eyes lit up. "This then is very amazing! It is good you come here, and are helping me look for Tessea, yes?"

"No kidding. I would've missed this entirely. Man, it's crazy how we always find out where to go next right when we need to go there."

"The gods are doing this," Kope said confidently. "Maybe it's not good for you to know everything from the start; maybe Them in Shrines would be more able to be stopping you if you did. So gods tell in bits instead of all together, you see?"

"Makes sense to me," Estel said, nodding. "Wow. Okay, now I really gotta go; I gotta give Saph these leaves and tell her about this thing we just saw." He smiled. "Thanks for all your help, Kope."

Kope smiled. "I thank you also. You are doing very much for us. I am hoping I can make others here see this too."

"Same here. See you later."

"Good-bye. I hope to be talking to you again soon."

With farewells given, Estel turned and ran back down the street toward the shelter, leaving Kope and Tessea standing in the square and watching the stars.

* * *

Estel was out of breath by the time he reached the shelter; he and Kope had wandered quite a distance during their search for Tessea. He paused for a moment in the entryway to catch his breath, and as he did, he glanced into one of the adjacent parlors. On a cot back in the corner sat Cen, leaning against the wall and whittling at a chunk of wood he had scrounged up somewhere. He had not spoken to any of the others since their return from the Shrine, and he seemed entirely unconcerned with Rath's condition. Sapphire was too wrapped up in tending to Rath to bother with Cen's current attitude problem, and Estel had given up after his attempts had been rather harshly rebuffed. Cen did not look up from his work as Estel stood and watched him, so Estel just shook his head and proceeded upstairs to Rath's sick-room.

As usual, the door was closed. Estel tapped on it with one knuckle, not wanting to be too loud in case Rath was asleep. A moment later, Sapphire opened the door, looking just as haggard as she had all week.

"Oh, there you are, Estel. I was wondering when you'd get back."

"Yeah, sorry. Some stuff came up."

Sapphire took a step back to allow Estel into the room as he pulled off his coat. Inside, it was considerably warmer than out in the hall, as Sapphire had a roaring fire burning in the fireplace and kept the shutters closed to try to keep the heat in. The air felt muggy and humid, and it smelled of the pungent herbs and medicines Sapphire had been working with; she had hardly needed to use her medicinal supplies so far on the quest, but now she had nearly depleted her entire store. In the room's lone bed, wrapped in blankets and apparently asleep, lay Rath.

He looked terrible, his thin face flushed and drenched in sweat, his hair sodden and matted to his head. His eyes darted restlessly beneath their lids, the skin around them darkened as though bruised. Though his breathing was steady, it sounded rough and congested. The sunken look he had displayed before seemed marvelously healthy compared to his ill, fragile aspect now.

Estel watched him in silence. Sapphire stepped over to stand next to him.

"What happened while you were out?"

"Huh? Oh." Estel shook his head, trying to brush off his thoughts. "Yeah, I ran into Rath's cousin. That Kope kid, who left all those notes in the diving machine."

"You did?"

"Yeah. He was out looking for Tessea; she'd wandered off. I helped him find her and we talked for a while. And he gave me these." Estel dug into his pocket and unearthed the two pouches of leaves. "He said they'd help with fixin' Rath."

For the first time in days, Sapphire perked up, hope coming into her tired eyes.

"Really?"

Estel nodded. "Yeah. The pale ones will help get the crud out of his chest, and the pointy ones'll help with his fever and aches."

Sapphire gave a sigh of relief and suddenly looked on the verge of tears.

"This is so wonderful. I was…I was starting to think…"

"I know," Estel said quietly. "Me too. But this'll help. Here, let's get this set up so we can give it a try."

Once they had fetched some water and set it over the fire to heat, Estel relayed Kope's instructions regarding the plants to Sapphire. She started preparing them, crushing some of the pale leaves in a small bowl. Once the water had begun to steam, Estel removed it from the fireplace and set it on the hearth, and Sapphire came over and scooped up some of the water to add to the bowl of crushed leaves. At once, a pungent smell rose from the bowl, making Estel pull back with a cough. Sapphire carried the bowl over and set it on the small stand beside the bed.

As soon as the vapor reached Rath, he drew a long, rattling breath, and then began to cough. This kept up for a while, Sapphire watching in concern, then it trailed off; Rath's breathing sounded as rough as before, but the inhalations were deeper. Sapphire relaxed slightly, and Estel gave a sigh of relief.

"Great. There's a step in the right direction finally."

"Yes." Sapphire looked across the bed at him. "I hope you thanked Kope for finding these for us."

"Course I did. Oh, damn, that reminds me. We saw the weirdest thing while we were out there talkin'."

Sapphire went to fetch another little bowl from her medical kit for the other leaves.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. It was this…well, it looked like a shooting star, but through my spyglass it looked like… Well, Kope was watchin' it, and he said it looked like a person."

Sapphire stopped in her tracks and stared at Estel.

"…What?"

"A person. He said it looked like it was made outta metal. I know how it sounds," Estel went on as Sapphire began to frown. "But he was serious."

"That sounds incredible, Estel. Are you sure he saw it clearly?"

"I didn't have time to check. The thing flew off and crashed in the mountains. But here's the thing." He leaned forward on the stool he had situated himself on. "The Earth Shrine was down in a cave, the Fire Shrine was in a volcano, and the Water Shrine was underwater. What if the Wind Shrine is up in the air? And this…metal person came from there? It, or he, or whatever, might have something to help us find the place."

Still frowning, Sapphire walked back toward the fireplace. A chair sat by Rath's bedside, and she dragged it over to the hearth by Estel. She sat down, the bowl with the leaves in it set in her lap and a little wooden pestle in one hand. She said nothing for a while, just watching the fire, but slowly her frown grew less skeptical and more thoughtful.

"It sounds a little…like a bit of a stretch," she said slowly. "But we've had much stranger things happen. And this has seemed to happen like this in the past: we get the information on where to go next right after taking care of the previous task."

"That's exactly what I was thinkin'."

"But this will be harder to find, if you only know it crashed up in the mountains somewhere. That's an awfully big area to search."

"I know. But, hey, we've got the airship; we could fly around and look for the spot where it hit. I mean, it'd have to leave a hole or something, right?"

"…Yes. Yes, you're right; that's a good idea." Sapphire turned her attention to the bowl in her lap, starting to grind the leaves with the pestle. "We'll talk about that more once Rath's better, and we can work out the details."

"Right."

Estel glanced over at the bed. Rath had started fussing slightly, shaking his head and picking at his blankets as though trying to push them away. Estel frowned and looked back at Sapphire.

"Has he been sayin' anything?"

"He just keeps muttering in Onracean. But it…" Sapphire hesitated, then went on. "I think it sounds like he's asking for his parents."

Estel grew more sober.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. The words I hear most clearly sound a lot like 'mama' and 'papa' to me. I mean…I could be wrong, but…" She glanced at Rath, then looked back down at the half-ground leaves in her bowl. "If I was in his place, I'd certainly want my parents."

"No argument here." Estel watched Sapphire work for a minute, then he held out a hand to her. "Here. I'll finish up with that. You go get some sleep; you look like you're on your last legs."

Sapphire looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, but I'm fine. I'm not nearly that bad off yet."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I want you to get that way. C'mon, lemme help. No way even I could screw up smashin' leaves, right?"

"You don't screw up anything, Estel."

"Well, then what's the problem?"

Sapphire sighed, her hands falling still.

"…Nothing, I guess. I just…I feel responsible for this, I suppose. If I'd just been able to help him before…"

"Hey, hey." Estel rose from his seat and knelt by Sapphire. "None of that. None of this is your fault. You know how many people told him to let us help, and he didn't listen. Kope says Rath's always been a stubborn bastard like that."

Sapphire frowned. "Really?"

"Well, maybe not in those words." Estel smiled a little, trying to get Sapphire to do so as well. "But seriously, don't worry about it. Doin' what you can now is fine. And I think the best thing you can do now is get some sleep, 'cause you'll be able to work better if you're not noddin' off in your work."

For a moment, Sapphire looked like she wanted to protest again, but then she relented to Estel's point.

"Of course. That makes sense." She set the bowl and pestle down on the floor beside Estel. "Thank you so much for helping me with everything, Estel. This has all been so awful, and then I don't even know what to try to do about Cen…"

"We'll figure something out," Estel assured her, though with more doubt than when he had said it earlier. He got to his feet, and then offered Sapphire a hand to help her out of her chair. "Why don't you go sleep in an actual cot this time instead of in your bedroll on the floor?"

Sapphire accepted his hand, and she did not release it for a few moments after she had risen from her seat.

"I'm fine. I need to be up here in case something happens."

"Well, if you're sure…"

"I am. Good night, Estel."

"G'night, Saph," Estel said. He embraced her, then, on impulse, kissed her. It was light and quick, but she still looked a bit surprised when he released her. He feigned sheepishness. "Not the time?"

Sapphire smiled. "It was just fine. I'll see you in the morning." She crossed to the opposite side of the room to where her sleeping bag lay rolled out in the corner, and crawled inside it. She fell asleep almost instantly.


	40. Oceans Between Us

**Chapter 40: Oceans Between Us**

Slowly, Rath's condition began to improve. At first, this was not readily apparent; the vapor from the pale leaves gave him alarming coughing fits, and Sapphire worried it was doing him more harm than good. No matter how violent the coughing, however, he always breathed somewhat better after each treatment, the plant doing just as Kope said it would in clearing out his lungs. The other plant worked much more straightforwardly in reducing Rath's fever and aches, though the effects were quite temporary, wearing off after only a few hours. Sapphire and Estel persisted in treating him, though, both with their own dwindling supplies and the newly acquired ones, and Kope brought more of the strange Onracean plants when he visited every couple of days.

Just over a week after Estel's first meeting with Kope, Rath's delirium started to diminish and soon vanished altogether, though he continued to sleep an excessive amount and refused to speak to the others. A couple of days later, his fits in response to the leaf vapor began to lessen in intensity. Within another week, his fever broke. He stayed awake longer, though he still would not speak, and his breathing continued to improve.

At first, Estel and Sapphire could scarcely express their relief. An alarming event near midnight one night, however, reminded them that their work was not half done yet; Rath would have to be under constant supervision, out of reach of anything sharp, and under the effects of Silence at all times.

Rath rankled under these measures, but unlike how he had reacted to unpleasant things before, he grew fussy and unhelpful rather than irritable and violent in response. Even that faded after a time, and he just became horribly listless.

While Sapphire grew despondent in the face of this behavior, Estel became more determined to get Rath back to normal. He did not act any differently than he had before the companions had reached Onrac; instead of coddling, he treated Rath like he would treat anyone else. He would talk to him, in spite of never receiving a reply. He wheedled Rath into taking medicine or submitting to whatever other procedure needed to be done, no matter how unhelpful Rath became about the matter.

The only thing that got anything remotely like a positive reaction out of Rath were Kope's visits. He would actually pay attention when Kope spoke, never replying but clearly attentive to his cousin's words. Kope only spoke to him in Onracean, so Estel and Sapphire did not understand what he was saying, but they could see the emotions crossing Rath's face in response: flickers of thoughtfulness, discomfort, regret, interest, and once even the tiniest hint of a smile. But still, nothing could persuade Rath to speak up himself.

Over a month had passed since the companions had reached Onrac. Rath had finally regained enough of his health to be able to get out of bed and walk on his own, though he would only do so with much prodding from Sapphire and Estel; he prefered to stay in bed, staring out the room's sole window at the low grey clouds that still hung over the town during the day, the magic-inhibiting runic seals glowing at his painfully thin wrists and throat. With his full recovery imminent, Estel and Sapphire started planning the next steps in the companions' journey.

After intermittent discussion over the past few weeks, they had decided to first go look for the peculiar object that Estel and Kope had seen fall. Estel was sure this held the key to finding the last Shrine, and, as they had nothing else even remotely like a lead, Sapphire agreed this would be worth investigation. Estel had procured a map from somewhere and had circled the area of the Onrac Mountains where he thought it most likely that the object had struck. They could not plan much beyond that, but Sapphire did point out that, if the clue did lead to the Lufenians as Estel suspected, they would need to return to Melmond before doing anything else.

"Tristan will be able to help. He knows more about them than any of us do."

With their further course laid out at least for a short distance, all that remained was to get their other two companions ready to leave. This task proved to be more difficult than it sounded, as both Cen and Rath refused to talk to them. Cen, at least, would listen, and the next time Estel came downstairs he saw that while Cen still sat, stoic, on his cot, he had packed up his things. Rath, on the other hand, showed no such proactivity, giving the impression that he would not leave unless Estel and Sapphire dragged him. Estel even threatened him with this, but Rath, of course, did not react. Estel sighed in exasperation, while Sapphire stood behind him and fretted.

The morning Estel and Sapphire had selected for the group's departure finally arrived, nearly a month and a half after they had slain Kraken. They had packed up their things, and Rath's as well, and had at least coaxed Rath into putting on his old, worn robes—he refused to even look at the ones he had received from Bahamut—over his shirt and trousers. He sat on the edge of the bed, collar up but head bare, and stared down at the floorboards, silent as Estel and Sapphire collected all their packs and double-checked to make sure they had not forgotten anything.

"And you got some more of those leaves from Kope?"

"Yes, I did," Estel reassured her for the fourth time. "Enough for two more weeks. Don't worry, Saph, it'll be fine."

"Oh, stop that." Sapphire frowned across the room at him. "I have to worry; I'm not used to being in charge of all this." She gave a huffy little sigh. "How did Cen always manage to do it?"

Estel shrugged. "C'mon, let's get going. We wanna be able to get a good start today, don't we?"

"Of course. Let's…"

Sapphire paused, casting a worried look first at Rath on the bed, then at Estel. Estel, taking the cue, picked up Rath's hat and pack in one hand and approached the silent wizard.

"Okay, Rath. Time to go."

Rath said nothing. Estel sighed.

"All right, fine."

He took Rath by the arm and lifted him to his feet. Rath, for once, did not attempt to sit back down, but neither did he move when Estel tried to make him walk, tugging slightly on his arm. He just continued to stare downward. The Silence seal around his throat cast a faint glow up on his pale face. Estel waited for a moment, his hand remaining firm around Rath's upper arm. Sapphire stood just beside the door and watched them.

"Do you want your hat?" Estel asked at length.

Rath's eyes flicked briefly to the steepled hat in Estel's free hand, then turned pointedly away to stare at the wall beside him. Estel nodded.

"I'll take that as a 'no'."

He worked Rath's pack up onto his shoulder beside his own and tucked the hat under his arm. He waited a moment, then tried tugging on Rath's arm again. This time, Rath allowed himself to be drawn over to the door where Sapphire stood waiting.

"Okay," Estel said. "Let's go."

The quiet group exited the room, Sapphire walking at the front and Estel leading Rath along behind her. They descended to the main foyer, and Sapphire went into the neighboring parlor to collect Cen. He rose from his cot as soon as she approached.

"We're, um. We're ready to go, Cen."

"Yeah, I figured."

He shouldered his pack and brushed past her. He did not acknowledge Estel and Rath, just walking past them and out the front door. Sapphire, following him out of the parlor, watched him go with obvious distress.

"Oh dear…"

"Yeah, that's kind of a problem," Estel muttered. "Dammit, what're we gonna do about all this…"

"Maybe we could get Tristan to talk to him?" Sapphire suggested.

"Yeah, maybe."

The front door opened, and Cen stuck his head back into the foyer.

"Are we going or what?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, we are."

"Then come on."

Cen withdrew and shut the door. Sapphire glanced worriedly at Estel, but he just sighed and shook his head, then went outside with Rath. Sapphire followed them.

The group set out from the shelter courtyard, Sapphire taking the lead again with Rath and Estel behind her and Cen taking up the rear and looking sullen. Flat grey clouds covered the sky above, leaving the town looking dimly-lit and dreary, but the lessening fog was a definite improvement; it was only a thin mist now, concentrated mostly above the canals and more swampy patches of ground. A few people were out and about, but not many; they did not look around as they went about their business, seeming to distrust the clearing air. Those people that did happen to glance up, however, stopped and stared at the companions as they passed, their expressions ranging from blankness to suspicion, and even to outright animosity. Estel scowled at this but said nothing.

As the companions approached the exit to the inhabited portion of town, Rath began to slow his pace. Estel tried to hurry him along a bit, but Rath resisted, and finally he stopped altogether. Estel halted as well, and so did Cen as they were standing in his way. When she heard their footsteps stop, Sapphire paused and turned around.

"What's wrong?"

"Dunno. Hey." Estel gave Rath's arm a little shake. "What's going on? Why did you stop?"

For the first time in weeks, Rath replied, his voice hoarse.

"…I have to go back."

Sapphire frowned, her brow knit with concern.

"Rath, we already said—"

"I have to go back."

"How come?" Estel asked, completely casual.

"I…" Rath paused. His expression remained blank. "I have to…go see my parents. Their graves."

Sapphire put her hand to her mouth, looking both distressed and uncertain. Estel just nodded.

"Okay. Kope told me where they are. We can take you."

"Of course," Sapphire said.

Cen rolled his eyes.

"Fine. You guys all have fun with that." He started off down the path again. "You can catch up with me later."

"Cen, wait!" Sapphire called after him, but he ignored her. He passed between the two pillars bordering the road out and kept going without looking back. Sapphire watched him, torn, then looked back at Estel. "Should I…?"

Estel frowned in thought.

"No," he said at last. "I'll take you and Rath to the graveyard, and then I'll go after Cen. That okay with you?"

"…Yes," Sapphire said. "That will be fine."

"Good."

They turned back and retraced their path through Onrac. At a main crossroad, instead of turning right as they would to get to the shelter, Estel led them straight, toward a more overgrown portion of the town. At length, they came upon a short wall encircling a very large field of bracken and coarse grasses. In one portion of the boundary wall there was a small gate, rusted open.

In the enclosed field stood rank upon rank of tombstones. The newer ones still sat upright, while the older ones had half-sunk into the soggy ground. Old wall foundations crisscrossed between these sections of stones.

"Here we go," Estel said, trying to sound neutral. He pointed toward a corner of the oddly-shaped cemetery that mostly contained newer monuments. "They're just over… Oh, damn."

A small, familiar figure wandered among the gravestones that Estel had indicated. Her dark hair hung in tangles, mud splotched her grey dress, and she clutched a worn old rag doll in one hand.

Tessea.

Rath's eyes widened as he saw her, and his shoulders tensed, but he said nothing. Estel and Sapphire exchanged a quick look.

"D'you…" Estel hesitated, watching Rath. "D'you still wanna go in? I bet she won't even notice you…er, I mean…" He trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

After a moment, Rath nodded.

"Yes. I…have to."

"Okay."

Estel released Rath's arm, allowing him to step forward into the cemetery. He made his way in the direction that Estel had indicated, taking care not to tread on or trip over any of the moss-covered tombstones. Estel watched him for a moment, then turned to Sapphire. He put Rath's pack and hat into her arms.

"Keep a close eye on him, okay?"

Sapphire nodded, her gaze not leaving Rath. "Of course."

"And catch up with us as fast as you can."

"All right. Be careful."

"Right."

With that, Estel turned and ran off down the path, heading back toward the edge of town. Sapphire remained at the cemetery gate, clutching her staff and Rath's things and watching Rath make his way to his parents' graves.

As Estel had suspected, Tessea did not appear to notice her elder brother's approach; she just continued wandering among the stones, her eyes glazed over and blank. Rath avoided looking at her, instead scanning the stones as he walked. At last, he stopped, staring at a grey, comparatively large gravestone. Like most of the monuments, it just bore dates of birth and death, along with the names of those interred beneath it:

Enodel. Saora.

Rath did nothing for a while, just looking at the writing etched into the stone's surface. The tombstone had already started to erode, chipping away at the edges, where it was not overgrown with moss. Slowly, Rath knelt and started to brush some of the moss and lichen away, his fingers trembling, then he pressed his palm to the cold stone and bowed his head. His face remained blank, though only thanks to intense effort betrayed by his tightly clenched jaw.

At length, he withdrew his hand. He started to get to his feet, and as he did, he spotted something on the wet, matted foliage beside him: a piece of rock, chipped off a nearby tombstone. Rath picked it up as he rose, on the pretense of straightening his robes to prevent Sapphire from suspecting anything. He turned the rock over in his hand, looking at it with his head bowed. It was short, but sharp and slightly jagged along the edges. Without a moment of hesitation, Rath gripped the stone and started to lift it to his throat.

Then small, cool fingers wrapped around the wrist of his free hand.

Rath stopped at once, stone clutched at chest-height. He looked down beside him. Tessea stood there, her eyes distant as she too looked at the tombstone, one hand on Rath's, the other gripping her ragged old doll by one arm. Rath's hands began to tremble again.

"Tessea…" he murmured, slightly choked.

She did not look up at him. She just drew her arm up to hold her doll to her chest.

"Rain," she said.

Her voice sounded a bit hoarse, but it had more life in it than her eyes. Rath drew a sharp breath, and his eyes widened.

"W-what?"

"Rain," Tessea repeated. She did not look away from the tombstone in front of her and Rath; no matter how coherent she sounded, she still looked as though her mind was somewhere else entirely.

Rath fell to his knees. He stared at his young sister almost pleadingly as he spoke to her in Onracean:

"Tessea, do you remember me? Are you all right?"

She did not respond, continuing to stare forward. Rath drew a shaking breath and spoke again.

"Can you hear me?"

She tapped his seal-bound wrist with her pale little fingers, as though in a gesture of reassurance. Rath tried to speak again but could not, his throat too constricted. He swallowed hard. His hand clenched around the small rock so tightly that it began to cut into his fingers.

"Please…" he managed at last. "Please…don't really be gone. I can't bear it…"

Tessea tapped her fingers again. After a brief silence, she released Rath's wrist and turned toward him, staring at him just as blankly as she had been staring at the tombstone. They remained like that, watching one another, for some time, Tessea eerily calm, Rath shaking and with blood dripping from where the rock cut his hand.

Then, though the look in her eyes did not change, the corners of Tessea's mouth turned up just slightly.

"Rain."

She lifted her hand and patted Rath's hollow cheek. Rath stared at her, too stunned to move, then he broke down. With a shudder and a sharp gasp, he seized Tessea in a tight embrace, clinging to her. She did not appear bothered by this, just tapping his shoulder a couple of times in reaction. Tears began to stream from Rath's eyes, and the jagged piece of stone fell from his hand.

"Tessea. Oh, Tessea, I'm…I'm so sorry…"

They remained like that for a long time.

At last, Rath released his sister from the embrace, holding her by the shoulders and looking at her. She tilted her head a little as she looked back, then reached up and touched his face again, where the tears streaked down it.

"Wet," she said.

Rath nodded. "Yes. Yes, it is wet. But it's…" He paused, taking a few deep breaths. "I think…it might be…"

He lifted a hand to wipe his eyes, and Tessea cried out, pointing at it; blood from the cuts had trickled and smeared across his hand, leaving it a red mess. Rath immediately covered his injured hand with his whole one.

"No, it's all right," he said, trying to head off Tessea's alarm. "It's only a little cut. Here, you see?" He wiped at his hand with his sleeve, cleaning away most of the blood. Fresh trickles welled up in the jagged little cuts, but this looked far less dire than it had before. "There. It's only small. I can wrap it up and it will be all better."

Tessea quieted, though she was still breathing hard. She touched Rath's hand, gripping his fingers.

"Bet…ter."

"Yes, that's right. All better." Another wave of tears began to fall. "And I really do mean it this time. Even I couldn't possibly ruin this…"

He looked down at his palm. Blood began to spill from the cuts again, and he watched it flow. Tessea, following his focus, watched it also. After a moment, she mimicked what he had done and patted at it with her sleeve.

"Bet-ter."

Rath watched her do this, then he put his undamaged hand to his face and began to sob. He did not try to stop this, though the force of them wracked his thin frame, made all the weaker by his long illness. Blank once more, Tessea stared at him, then began patting his injured hand again.

"No. Wet. No."

She patted more insistently. Rath tried to calm himself, but to little effect. The conflicting efforts at first just made things worse; the spasms agitated his weakened lungs, and he began to cough. It was only for a moment, though, and it halted the worst of his fit. He took a couple of deep breaths, his gaze on the ground before him. He wiped his eyes with his free hand. Tessea stopped her patting, apparently satisfied with Rath's efforts. Rath looked up at her.

"I don't want to go on with this any more. I can't."

"Rain," Tessea said. "Bet-ter."

"What's better? What have I done that could possibly be considered better?"

Tessea stared at him for a moment, then turned her face skyward to stare at the featureless clouds instead. Rath looked up as well.

"The sky? It looks like it always has. Or…" Rath trailed off. "Or is it what Kope said?" he murmured. "About watching the stars…"

He looked back at Tessea, now enthralled with the grey canopy and ignoring him again. He reached out and touched her cheek lightly, though she did not notice.

"Perhaps…"

He withdrew his hand and looked down at it. He then looked at his injured hand, the blood welling from the cuts and trickling down his fingers and across his palm. He watched this for some time, while beside him, Tessea continued to stare up at the sky, having apparently forgotten everything else that had been going on.

At length, Rath wiped his hand on his robes, cleaning away the blood. He put his other hand on Tessea's shoulder.

"I…have to go now."

Tessea said nothing, but she did reach up and pat his wrist again, right where the Silence seal glowed against his skin. Rath went on.

"Be good for Diona, and Kope and the others. And…" His hands began to shake, and when he continued, his voice quavered as well. "And please…please prove that I've been wrong for all these years…"

Another light, absent pat.

"Rain," Tessea said.

Rath gritted his teeth, and he had to swallow hard before speaking again.

"I… I'll be back soon. Don't worry."

Tessea did not react. Rath waited to see if she would say anything, but when her silence persisted, he just gathered her up into another embrace. She patted his arm once but otherwise did not respond. After a long moment, Rath released her and got to his feet. Tessea turned away, staring off into the middle distance with her doll clutched to her chest. Rath looked down at her, his expression torn.

"…Good-bye, 'Sea."

With that, he turned and started back toward the cemetery gate, where Sapphire stood waiting for him. She hurriedly wiped her eyes as he approached.

"Rath…"

He just held out his injured hand toward her. "If you would not mind."

Sapphire's eyes widened. "What did you do?"

"You should be thankful it is no worse than this."

Sapphire hesitated, about to say something, then changed her mind. She held her hand out over Rath's, and a faint healing glow flowed between them. The cuts on Rath's fingers and palm stopped bleeding and sealed themselves. Rath wiped the remaining blood off with his sleeve as Sapphire withdrew her hand.

"We can go now," he said.

"All right," Sapphire said quietly.

Side by side, they set off down the path toward the exit of the town. Rath kept his gaze downward, watching for uneven cobbles so he would not trip, while Sapphire watched him out of the corner of her eye. They had nearly reached the pillars marking the town boundary when she finally could not remain silent any longer.

"Rath?"

"…Yes?"

"What did…what did she say to you?"

Rath did not answer immediately. He continued staring down at the path directly before him.

"She said my name," he said at last. "Rain. My name is a bit difficult to pronounce, and that…was the best she could manage when she was learning to talk."

"I see…"

They passed the pillars in silence. After a little while, once the inhabited part of the town had disappeared from sight in the trees, Rath spoke again, somewhat haltingly.

"I didn't…after what I had seen, I…thought she would not remember, or recognize me. …I was wrong."

"I'm glad," Sapphire said. She sounded a bit teary, and she dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve. "I think this was something you needed to be wrong about."

Silence. The only sound was that of their steps and Sapphire's staff on the cobblestones, but the lack of the awful, dead heaviness in the air kept the silence from being oppressive. A light drizzle began to fall from the low, featureless clouds, so slight that Sapphire did not even bother to put up her hood to ward it off.

At length, as they passed one of the many old, ruined homes that dotted the forest, Rath spoke up, still not looking at Sapphire.

"Thank you."

Sapphire started, having been caught up in her own thoughts. "What?"

"Thank you," Rath repeated, then went on. "For…being stubborn."

"Oh… Well…you're welcome. It's something I'm good at."

"I've noticed that."

They walked on, and silence settled over them again. Before too long, however, Sapphire broke it.

"We should try to hurry; we don't want Cen and Estel to get too far ahead. I know you're still not feeling well, but—"

"I will be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"All right… We'll take more breaks this time," Sapphire added, "so it will take longer to get back to the airship, but I thought it would be best for you."

"I understand. I have had this illness before; I know how badly it affects me."

"Right, that's…what Estel heard from Kope."

Sapphire increased her pace slightly, and Rath adjusted his to match it.

"I am…glad they got to know each other," he said after a while. "I suspected they would get along well."

"Kope seemed very nice. I hope he's able to get things in Onrac straightened out a little." Sapphire put her hand to her mouth, suddenly realizing how insensitive her comment had been. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned—"

"Never mind," Rath interrupted. "I know what you meant."

"Still, I'm sorry."

"Do not mention it."

Sapphire remained quiet for a moment, then spoke again, pointedly changing the subject as she looked off down the path.

"We should really try to catch up with the others. Come on, Rath."

She quickened her pace again, but this time Rath came to a complete halt.

"No."

Sapphire stopped as well and looked back at him, her eyes wide.

"What? But—"

Rath shook his head. "Not that. What I meant…" He hesitated, then pressed on. "What you called me. My name is not Rath. It's Raolin."

Sapphire stared at him through the light rain, her expression a combination of amazement and disbelief. After a moment, however, a pleased, slightly tearful smile appeared on her face.

"All right, Raolin. Let's go find Cen and Estel."

She waited for him to walk forward to join her, then they both started off down the damaged old road once more.

* * *

Estel ran down the road leading away from Onrac. He had not started after Cen right away, instead going back to the town to find Kope and let him know where Tessea had wandered off to. This meant he now had a bit of catching up to do to find Cen. Estel scanned the path ahead of him while dashing along, luckily not tripping over the uneven ground. He did not even notice when the rain began to fall.

At last, Estel saw a figure striding down the path ahead of him. He broke into a sprint to close the distance between him and the retreating figure.

"Cen!" he yelled. "Hey, Cen!"

If Cen heard this, he gave no sign. He just continued to walk, his cloak tossing behind him, his hood covering his head. Estel slowed down a bit, frowning, but still drew level with Cen quickly. He paused, taking a moment to regain his breath, then, as Cen had not stopped, trotted forward again to walk beside him.

"Geez, thanks for the chase. What's goin' on?"

Cen did not reply. He kept his eyes resolutely forward, his posture tense as he walked. Estel's brows furrowed in confusion and unease.

"What's got into you lately? You've hardly said two words to any of us."

Cen glowered. "Oh, you noticed that, huh?" he said, his tone scathing. "Wow. Should I be flattered or something?"

"Well, er, it wasn't exactly hard to miss," Estel said, frowning. "I would've asked before, but, y'know, things were kinda busy back there. So what's goin' on?"

"Guess."

Estel dropped back a pace, eyeing Cen warily. "I…don't think I'd better."

"No, go on." Cen's tone became strangely unsettling, almost enough to make Estel stop walking. "Really. I want to hear what you have to say."

Estel did not offer a reply to this at once. Keeping a few paces between him and Cen, he glanced back along the road, then forward again. Then his eyes widened as he realized the answer to his question.

"Oh, gods, you've gotta be kiddin' me. This is still about that mess with Rath?"

"Nothing gets by you, does it?"

Estel gave an exasperated sigh. "Come on, Cen, what—"

"Okay, why are you even talking to me?" Cen, eyes narrowed and face flushed in anger, came to a dead halt in the middle of the road and rounded on Estel. Estel jerked to a stop to keep from walking into him. "Don't you have someone else to be babysitting?"

"Now wait just a minute." Estel scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think it means?"

"Okay, why the hell d'you have such a big problem with all this? It's not like—"

"Oh, yeah, you're right," Cen said with massive sarcasm. "We've only been traveling around with a murderer all this time, nothing to get upset about, right?"

Estel gritted his teeth. "Don't call him that."

"Why not? It's what he is!"

"No, it isn't! Gods, were you even listening to him before?"

"Better than you were!"

"No, you weren't! Dammit, Cen, what's your problem? You know how shit like that works; something you don't got a choice. Or didn't you hear him explain that part? And if you didn't hear it, that means it didn't get said, right? Huh. Yeah. Makes perfect sense now. Dunno why I didn't see that sooner."

"I never said—"

"Well, that's sure as hell what it sounded like to me. Unless you wanna correct it." He folded his arms across his chest and fixed Cen with a piercing stare.

At first, Cen seemed at a loss for words. He mouthed in furious silence for a moment, then shook his head in frustration.

"You know what? I'm not even going to try. If you're going to be so stupid that you'll believe all that, then go right ahead. It's not my problem."

"Um?" Estel raised an eyebrow. "Just a guess, but it damn well _looks_ like it's your problem. _I'm_ not the one that's been throwin' a fit over this, y'know."

"Yeah, you've just been swallowing all that 'poor me' garbage he's been spewing ever since we got here, like it was the end-all truth."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're being an idiot!"

"Because I feel bad for him? How does that make me an idiot?"

"Because—" Cen stopped abruptly, as though in hesitation. Before he could continue, Estel cut in:

"What, so you can't even back up your own damn arguments? Real smooth there, pal. You know what?" He took a step closer to Cen and jabbed a finger at him. "I think I'll just keep bein' an idiot, in that case. Especially if the other choice is to be a jackass havin' a colossal tantrum just because someone _else_ did something he didn't like. Huh." He tapped his chin in mock-thoughtfulness, as Cen sometimes did. "Now I think about it, that sounds an awful lot like something _Idren_ would do."

Estel realized his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. His eyes widened, and he ducked just in time; Cen's punch missed him by little more than an inch. Before Cen could recover from the miss, Estel straightened and caught Cen's jaw with a hard right hook.

Cen staggered, his eyes wide with shock. Estel, breathing hard, looked nearly as surprised as Cen did. Cen straightened up, his eyes narrowing as he looked back at Estel. He put his fingers to the blood that had started trickling from the corner of his mouth, then looked down at it. He shot another glare at Estel, then he turned away and stomped off down the path.

Estel just stood and watched him go. He rubbed his throbbing knuckles for a moment, then went to lean against a large tree bordering the path to wait for Sapphire and Rath to catch up with him.


	41. Finders, Keepers

**Chapter 41: Finders, Keepers**

It took nearly two weeks for the Light Warriors to return to the _Phaëton_. Even though the land was less wet and unpleasant than it had been before, the journey was still far from comfortable. Part of this came from how much longer it took, combined with the constant watch Estel and Sapphire still kept on Raolin. Mostly, however, it came from Cen's absence; Estel, Sapphire, and Raolin never did catch up with him again, and they arrived at the airship to find the door to his cabin locked.

They spent their first day back on the airship dealing with cleaning and logistic issues. Estel climbed around in the rigging, shaking off the hoarfrost that had caked up on the wires, ropes, and propellers, while Sapphire, keeping Raolin with her, began adjusting the sleeping quarters. No matter the change in Raolin's demeanor, Sapphire still felt concerned about leaving him alone, so she relocated Estel's things into his room and made up another bed on a cot she brought up from the hold. Raolin only made token protests to this arrangement.

The next morning, Estel and Sapphire met in the common room, alone, as Raolin had still been asleep and Cen still refused to leave his room. It was this latter point that they chiefly needed to discuss.

"I can't believe he said all that," Sapphire said. She sat beside Estel on one of the large, overstuffed sofas in the center of the room; Estel had just finished relating exactly what he had heard from Cen when they had their altercation on the road, as he had glossed over the details when she had asked him before. "Has he ever acted like that about anything before?"

Estel shook his head. "He's usually the one with his head on straight. I mean, I get the last part, 'cause that was my fault, but the rest? Not so much. It doesn't make any sense."

Sapphire sighed, then scooted over to sit closer to Estel. He put his arm around her, and she put her hand over his.

"This is all so awful. Everything's just fallen apart."

"I dunno what to tell you."

"Maybe—"

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Sapphire and Estel turned to see Raolin, standing just outside his and Estel's cabin. He watched them with more composure than he had been prone to showing for the last two months, and he was, oddly, still hatless and in his old, battered robes, though with the collar folded down instead of covering his face. Though he still looked gaunt and slightly ill, he had washed up, and he had cleaned and tidied his raggedly-cut dark hair, which now hung loose around his face. He had one of his spellbooks tucked under one arm, and the Silence seals gleamed at his throat and wrists.

"Oh." Estel blinked. "Hey, Rath—er, sorry. Raolin. How're you doin' today?"

Raolin shrugged. "As well as can be expected, I suppose."

"C'mon over and have a seat."

Raolin obliged, walking over and sitting down on a chair near Estel and Sapphire's sofa. He set his book on his lap.

"We were just having a little meeting," Sapphire told him. "We're trying to think what to do about Cen…"

"Ah." Raolin glanced toward Cen's door. "Well, I doubt I would have any insights on that matter."

"It's all right. Neither of us do, either."

"I say we wait until we get to Melmond," Estel said, frowning and tapping his foot. "Let Tris try to sort him out. He was always good at that."

Raolin frowned slightly. "We're returning to Melmond?"

"Eventually," Sapphire said. "We're sure the Wind Shrine has something to do with Lufenia, so we wanted to get Tristan's advice on it. And we might have found something that he'd be interested in seeing, too."

"Oh?"

At this prompting, Estel retold the story of his first meeting with Kope, and especially about the peculiar object they had seen fall out of the sky. He gave every detail about it that he could remember, while Raolin listened, his expression thoughtful. Estel finished with their idea about the object.

"Interesting," Raolin said. "And receiving a clue like that at such a vital time does fit with what has happened with the previous Shrines. I'd say this certainly deserves our investigation."

Estel nodded. "Exactly."

"How are we going to find it?"

"We thought we should fly toward where Estel thinks it landed and look for the impact site," Sapphire said. "After that…" She trailed off and looked at Estel. "I suppose it would depend on where it was, then. We can't really plan how to get it until we know that."

"Where did you see it land?" Raolin asked.

Estel described his impression of the crash again, and his guess on the location. Raolin considered this, his gaze now only a faint echo of his—Rath's—usual piercing, analytical one.

"That part of the continent is almost exclusively mountainous terrain. We wouldn't be able to land the airship; if the object was still on the surface, the only ways to reach it would be to lower someone from the ship while it was still airborne, or to return here to land, and then row up the river, and the latter is not a guaranteed route."

"What d'you mean 'if'?" Estel asked.

"Because the Onrac Mountains are riddled with caves," Raolin replied in a normal, conversational tone, not the snippy one he had often used before when anyone asked him a question. "An object traveling fast enough could easily punch through the surface and into one of the caverns below. Our mystery projectile could very well have done exactly that."

Estel blinked as he thought about the implications of this.

"Well, damn."

"Estel, don't swear."

"Sorry, Saph."

"It might not be warranted, actually," Raolin said. "Some of the caves happen to be accessible. We could retrieve the object if it fell into one of them."

"That's a pretty big 'if'," Estel said, not sounding convinced.

Raolin shrugged. "It's all I can offer."

"It's fine," Sapphire assured him. "This is all really good for us to know. Thank you for helping us so much with this plan."

Raolin looked at her, his lips pressed together as he considered her words.

"You're welcome," he said at last.

"So then what?" Estel asked. "What're we gonna do when we find it? Someone's gonna have to go down no matter where the thing ended up, but we can't all go: Cen's still throwin' a tantrum, and someone's gotta man the levistone."

The three companions thought this over. There came a quiet rustle from the direction of Cen's room, drawing their attention for a moment, but when he did not emerge or make any other sound, they went back to their contemplation.

"I'll go down to get whatever it is," Estel said at last, "and you guys stay up here. I mean, how hard can it be?"

"Quite," Raolin said. "There are Fallen dragons in those mountains."

In spite of Sapphire's protests, Estel swore again. Raolin looked unperturbed by the coarse language, however.

"Then I'll come with you," Sapphire said. "I can…oh." She stopped and glanced at Raolin. "Well, no, I guess I can't."

Raolin did not look bothered. He glanced away, then back at his companions.

"I can accompany Estel."

"No, you can't," Sapphire said at once. "You've been ill, and you're still in no condition to be hiking through caves and fighting dragons."

"I'm actually almost entirely well again," Raolin pointed out. "Just because it does not necessarily look that way to you does not mean it's not the truth."

Sapphire gave a stubborn frown and started to speak, but Estel cut her off.

"He's got a point; he does know a lot more about this kind of sick than you do. Besides, me and him headin' down there is kinda our only choice, unless we can figure out how to talk some sense into Cen real quick here."

"But…" Sapphire worked for a minute, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to think of an argument. "Won't you need a healer with you?" she tried at last. "Especially if there are Fallen dragons down there?"

"Yeah, we will." Estel looked over at Raolin with a smile. "Right?"

This, of all things, made Raolin look uncomfortable. He looked away, pressing his hands into the thick padding of his chair.

"I will…I'll certainly do what I can in that regard."

"There you go." Estel turned to smile at Sapphire. "We'll be fine. I'll watch him, he'll watch me, and you'll watch the ship and Captain Cranky back there. Perfect."

Sapphire frowned down at her hands, clenched tight in her lap.

"I still don't like it."

"It's one small excursion," Raolin said, still a bit subdued. "And I'll have ample opportunity to rest on our journey to Melmond."

"Right. C'mon, Saph, it won't be any trouble at all. And it really is the only choice we've got here."

Sapphire gave a defeated sigh.

"All right," she said. "But only because there's no other way. _And_ we're going to wait until tomorrow before we leave; one more day to rest won't hurt anything."

* * *

They spent the rest of the day preparing supplies for Estel and Raolin's expedition, and the next morning, which dawned cloudy and damp, they departed, heading north in search of the strange object's landing place. Sapphire worked the levistone, keeping the ship at a slower pace so Estel would not miss seeing the impact site. He leaned over the railing of the airship, scanning the ground for any sign of a crater or other mark amid the tall, rolling mountains, while Raolin, wearing his hat once again, watched over the opposite railing for the same things.

Close to noon, as far as they could tell with clouds blotting out the sun, Estel spotted what they were looking for: a gouge in a mountainside, surrounded by debris from a landslide. Sapphire halted the airship, and she and Raolin both came to examine what Estel had found.

"Well?" Estel glanced at Raolin. "What d'you think? Is that somewhere that we can get to?"

Raolin scanned the ground for a few moments longer.

"I believe so," he said at last. "Sapphire, can you take us lower? I would like to have a better look, to ascertain whether the object remains on the surface or not."

Sapphire obliged, drawing the _Phaëton_ down as close as possible to the peak in question. With this closer vantage point, Raolin confirmed that, yes, the object had punctured the side of the peak and gone into the caverns below.

"Fortunately," he went on, "the cave system in this area happens to have an entrance point that can be accessed with relative ease. It will put a bit of a hike before Estel and myself, but one far less strenuous than we have previously had to endure when venturing underground."

"Good," Estel said fervently. "Just 'cause I can put up with the stupid things now doesn't mean I like 'em."

"Where's the entrance?" Sapphire asked. She started the ship in motion again, going straight up to get clear of the mountains before turning.

"Return to the river. Slightly south of where we are now, there is a lake fed by a large waterfall. The cavern's opening is behind those falls."

Estel blinked. "And you think that's _easy_ to get to?"

"There's a shelf ringing the lake that we can traverse to get there," Raolin said. "Or did you think we would have to fly through the falls to get behind them?"

He did not sound as snippy as he might have before when he said this, and the change was not lost on Estel and Sapphire.

"Maybe," Estel admitted, looking away a bit sheepishly. "Either that or swim, and I sure couldn't see _that_ ending good for us."

"Certainly not."

At Raolin's instruction, Sapphire flew the airship back to the lake in question. Deep and oval, it lay in a steep-walled valley in the midst of the peaks, reflecting the dull grey of the sky and the surrounding cliffs. In better weather, it might have been a very beautiful place, but right now it looked drab and cold. At the north end, a broad waterfall thundered down, filling the bowl-shaped basin with mist and spray. The deep roar of it echoed off the cliffs.

Sapphire relenquished the levistone to Estel, and he drew the airship as close as possible to the side of the basin. Just below, the smooth cliff-face jutted outward, forming a precipice marking where the river had begun to erode a tougher layer of stone. After some rummaging around in the hold, the companions unearthed a rope ladder, still quite sound; Estel afixed one end to the _Phaëton_'s railing and tossed the other over the side to hang just a foot or so away from their goal of the shelf.

"Well, okay." Estel finished fastening on his belt of ninja gear, his katana already in their sheathes at his back. "Let's get going."

Raolin did not reply. Still in his old robes and battered hat instead of his new things, he just turned to Sapphire and held his hands out to her. The Silence seals gleamed around his wrists.

"I will need these removed," he said.

For half a second, Sapphire hesitated. Then she murmured the counter-spell and gestured toward him. At once, the seals faded and vanished. Raolin withdrew his hands, and Sapphire shot a glance at Estel, who nodded.

"Okay, we're set," he said. "See you when we get back, Saph."

"All right. Be careful."

With some rather precarious maneuvering, Estel and Raolin left the airship, climbing down the rope ladder to the shelf of rock below. From there, it was only a short walk around the rim of the lake to the waterfall. The water plummeted down several feet away from the cliff wall rather than directly over it, so the worst Estel and Raolin had to endure was persistent spray and occasional splashes. Almost directly behind the center of the falls, a crack, wide enough for one person to pass through at a time, opened in the face of the cliff, its edges worn smooth by the water trickling from above.

"Neat place, but I wouldn't wanna live here," Estel commented dryly.

"I fully agree," Raolin said. He began investigating the cavern entrance, a conjured puffball of flame over one hand. "The passage widens just inside," he reported. "Given our luck, it won't stay that way, but I suppose we shall have to wait and see about that particular detail."

"Yeah, not a lot of options on this. C'mon, let's head inside; maybe it'll be less wet in there."

"We can only hope."

Raolin led the way into the cave, his flame held out before him. As he had said, the passage only remained narrow for a short distance, soon opening up into a small chamber, rivulets of water running down the smooth, dark walls to pool on the floor. The waterfall roared just outside.

"So how're we gonna find this thing, anyway?" Estel asked, looking around. He frowned at the only other exit, leading deeper into the mountain. "It's one thing to see the spot from outside, but in here?"

"Simple. We were facing north when we entered. All we must do is remember which direction we turn each time. We should be able to continue to our destination without losing our bearings that way."

Estel sighed. "Guess I'll leave that to you; no way I'd be able to keep all that straight. So which way do we go?"

"Our destination is west and slightly north of our current position."

"Well, okay then. Let's—"

"We must take some precautions first," Raolin interrupted. "I told you there were Fallen dragons here, didn't I?"

"Well, yeah, that's why we're both here. But if we're quiet, they shouldn't bother us too much, right?"

"That would be correct, if these were the types of dragons found in the south. The dragons here are poisonous; even breathing the air around them is enough to make you fall extremely ill."

Estel blinked. "Rath—"

"Raolin," came the correction.

"Right, sorry. Raolin, no offense or anything, but this is the shittiest country I've ever been to."

Raolin did not look bothered.

"In cases like this, I'm forced to agree with you. The only benefit is that we in all likelihood will not encounter any other creatures while we are here. Nothing much can live in the same environment as green dragons, at least not for very long."

"So how're _we_ supposed to keep from dyin' while walkin' around in here? Sounds like we could drop if we just walk through the wrong patch of air."

"That is why we will be taking some precautions. Give me your bandana."

Estel untied his bandana from around his head and handed it to Raolin.

"Don't see what this is gonna do to help," he said.

"You will."

Raolin shook out the bandana, then drew an antidote bottle from a pocket of his pack. It bore no insignia on the side. He removed the cork, revealing the short needle within, then pulled that loose too. He poured the contents of the bottle onto the bandana, drenching it, then handed it back to Estel.

"Tie that over your nose and mouth. It's a minimal barrier, but it will help reduce the effects of the airborne toxins."

Estel took the wet bandana back without comment. He tied it over his face as instructed, as Raolin performed the procedure again on another square of cloth for himself. At Raolin's further prompting, Estel also put on his gloves and pulled up the hood of his woolen cloak.

"We are now as prepared as it is possible to be," Raolin said, his voice muffled by the cloth over his mouth. He, of course, had scarcely had to do anything, being already almost entirely covered from head to foot. "The rest will be down to fortune and, as you said, moving as quickly and quietly as we possibly can."

"Okay," Estel said with a nod. "Lead the way, then."

The pair set off into the damp, dark caverns, walking in silence. Contrary to what Raolin had suspected outside, the passages remained relatively open, with the only obstructions appearing in the form of cave-ins which looked fairly recent. Occasionally, they also saw signs of green dragons: swathes of sticky, glistening slime coating the walls and floor. Raolin avoided touching these when he saw them, not even letting his robes brush against them for fear of contamination, and Estel followed this example.

"Looks like these things are crawlin' all over the place in here," he muttered, sidestepping another streak of slime down the center of the tunnel he and Raolin were following. "We're lucky one hasn't run into us yet."

"I imagine the impact agitated them," Raolin said, keeping his voice lowered to avoid causing too many echoes. He reached an open chamber and paused before stepping forward, looking around. "They have likely been more active than usual lately."

"Oh joy…"

"This room is clear." Raolin started forward again, and Estel fell into step behind him. "I think we've gone a bit too far north now; we will need to start bearing left, and eventually find a path leading back south."

"How the hell can you keep track of that? I'm already lost."

Raolin halted in the center of the room and looked around. "I have a very good memory. It proves useful on occasion, even if I do often have cause to rue it."

"Yeah, I believe it," Estel said after a moment's awkward silence. "Still, it's a good thing to have now."

"I suppose so."

For a moment, the pair just looked at each other in the glow of the puffball flame, only the noise of water dripping to the floor breaking the silence. Raolin broke eye contact first, turning away in discomfort.

"Sorry," Estel said, trying to sound casual. "I just—"

"No matter," Raolin said. "I'm…attempting to cope with it. Focusing my attention outward helps. …But I do believe it's for the best that you continue to keep watch on me the way you and Sapphire have arranged," he added, speaking a bit quickly, as though he did not quite want to admit this aloud.

Estel nodded. "Whatever you need. And it's good to know you aren't too pissed off about that."

Raolin started to reply, but he broke off at a sound echoing from the distance: something heavy slithering along the floor. He tensed at once and drew back toward the passage from which he and Estel had come, pressing himself against the wall. Estel did the same, while Raolin waved his hand over his flame, dimming it.

"Dragon?" Estel whispered.

Raolin nodded. "And certainly ahead of us, though the distance is hard to judge with the echoes. Cen could probably deduce it exactly, but…"

"Cen's not here," Estel finished. "Dammit. I'm gonna wring his neck for this." He glanced sideways at Raolin. "Now what?"

"We proceed with extreme caution," Raolin said after a pause. "Wherever it is, it sounds as though it is moving away from our current position. We just have to hope that its course doesn't lie the same direction as ours."

"Or that it doesn't get a whiff of us and decide to follow us around."

"Naturally."

"Alright then, let's get goin'. Lead the way."

Raolin started forward again, across the chamber toward the only other exit, with Estel right behind him. He kept his light low to help avoid detection, but the dimness made the cave feel more forboding; every shadow and darkened side passage seemed to hold unwelcome watchers. At one point, a broad swath of greenish slime crossed their path, going from one of these side caverns to another, and it took a bit of work to cross it without staining their boots in the toxic gunk. The noise of movement the pair had heard did not repeat itself.

They could not tell how long they had been traversing this damp labyrinth, though Raolin did assure Estel that he had not lost his bearings. The path they followed twisted and turned, sometimes through narrow passages, sometimes through chambers so tall they could not see the ceiling. Smooth, milky rock formations, scarcely visible in the dim light, lay in flowing layers on the walls and floor, sometimes making footing treacherous. As Estel and Raolin went on, they began to see dark cracks in these ripples of stone, and spots where parts of the ceiling had collapsed. Raolin took this to be a sign that they were moving in the right direction.

This slight show of optimism vanished when they discovered that the way they needed to go had been blocked by one of these cave-ins. Raolin, his gaze flat, brightened his flame so Estel could examine the blockage.

"No dice," he said at last, clambering down from the top of the pile. "There's a little gap at the top, about big enough to stick your fingers through. I don't think we'll wanna try diggin', though; it'd probably bring more rocks down on top of us."

Raolin sighed.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised."

He turned and looked around, studying their surroundings. They were in a moderate-sized cavern, rounded and with a high ceiling. Their path in could be seen as a blacker point against the darkened far side, and no other exits could be seen from Raolin's present vantage point. He drummed his fingers along the collar of his robes.

"Should we backtrack?" Estel asked.

After a moment, Raolin shook his head.

"This was the only course that led in the direction we wanted. There is a chance that another would bend this way eventually, but it could take twice as long or lead us to a place from which we would be unable to escape."

"Well…d'you know Teleport? You could use that to get us out."

"I do," Raolin said, with his unusual, newly acquired patience. "But it would be difficult to cast if, for example, we ended up in a dragon nest. Getting eaten or dying of rapid poisoning tends to have a negative effect on one's focus."

Estel winced. "Yeah, good point."

"We'll search the chamber." Raolin turned to face Estel, and a touch of his previous determination could be seen in his eyes. "There may be a path we failed to see in the poor light." He conjured another puffball flame and handed it off to Estel. "Make sure to be thorough; I'm sure you would hate for the expedition to stop here, with nothing to show for it."

"No kidding."

They started off in opposite directions, Estel moving more quickly, and Raolin sending his flame to scout ahead of him. Before they had gone more than a few feet, however, they again heard that same wet, slithering noise that had halted them before, this time drawing nearer along they path they had taken in.

Estel swore.

"Now what?" He hurried across the slick floor to Raolin. "It's comin' straight here, and we got no way out. Are we gonna be able to kill this thing, or should we just get the hell outta here?"

"As long as we can keep our distance from it, we should be able to triumph." Raolin scanned the room with narrowed eyes, assessing its suitability for battle at a glance. "They're fairly quick, however, and can certainly move better in this environment than we can."

"So what'll we do?"

"I will keep it at bay, while you continue to search for a way onward. The one advantage we have is that green dragons are particularly susceptible to cold; my ice magic should be sufficient to repel one."

"That'll do it. Blizzaga the hell out of it for me."

"I'll do what I can."

With a wave of his hand, Raolin dimmed Estel's light and brightened his own, then Estel darted off as quickly as he could toward the wall of the chamber to search for any concealed passages. Raolin walked forward to stand in the center, his flame gleaming like a beacon above his outstretched hand, and faced the open passage.

Only seconds later, the dragon crawled into view. It looked very little like the dragons the companions had encountered before, less lizard-like and more amphibian, like a massive salamander. Its slimy skin glistened, the translucent green revealing a network of thick, dark veins just beneath the surface. It swung its large, wedge-shaped head from side to side as it sniffed the air of the room, and its pale eyes swiveled in their sockets, large, bulbous, and pupil-less. Its gaze immediately fixed on Raolin standing illuminated in the center of the chamber, and it started toward him with surprising speed, sticky pads on its toes allowing it to grip the slick floor.

Raolin backed away, the air around him glimmering as he prepared an ice spell. The dragon's mouth gaped as it approached, revealing a pale tongue and dozens of small, triangular teeth dripping glutinous ichor. Poisonous fumes flowed from its nostrils and open maw. Raolin shot a burst of cold from his hand, freezing the ground right before the dragon. It reared back, hissing in displeasure, but then it just adjusted its course to come at Raolin from a different direction. Raolin turned to follow it, not letting it out of his sight as he prepared another Blizzard spell. He kept his aim a few steps ahead of the dragon, ready to head off its next approach.

Around the edge of the room, Estel darted from shadow to shadow, almost invisible in the dim light as he searched for a path out of the chamber. He kept half an eye on the battle as he searched, ready to jump in if Raolin should need his help.

Taking the defensive, Raolin unleashed a Blizzara spell in a sweeping arc and froze the ground in a wide boundary down the center of the chamber, creating a spiked barricade of ice. The dragon hissed and paced before this, frustrated to be separated from its prey, but then it simply climbed up one of the walls, the pads on its feet clinging to the stone, and circumvented Raolin's defense. Raolin's eyes narrowed as it descended and charged toward him again.

"Troublesome…"

He shot another blast of cold out before him, making a wall of ice. The dragon was moving too fast to avoid it, and it crashed into the barrier at full force. It reared back, hissing and spitting, as dark, greenish blood leaked from the cuts on its face. The droplets steamed as they hit the ground.

"Are you making any progress, Estel?" Raolin called over his shoulder, sounding forcibly off-hand. He shot another Blizzard spell, but this time the dragon dodged, and the freezing energy only clipped the side of its tail. The flesh froze solid and shattered when it struck the stone.

"Gimme a minute!" Estel yelled back.

The dragon swiveled its head toward the sound of Estel's voice and flicked its tongue, scenting the air. Then it started toward him, ignoring the more antagonizing Raolin for what it saw as easier prey. Estel bolted, running around the edge of the cavern toward the opposite side, and the sudden movement confused the dragon; it turned in place, sniffing at the air and hissing. Raolin took the opportunity to blast the dragon with another Blizzard, this time catching its entire tail and shattering it. The dragon screeched and writhed, then circled toward him, drew a deep breath, and exhaled a plume of poisonous vapours. Raolin quickly covered his face with his arm and stumbled to the side, then, before the dragon could breath on him again, he shot another burst of ice. This one caught one of the dragon's forelegs, freezing it to the stone; it ripped free when the dragon took a step, and the creature screamed, dark, steaming blood spewing from the wound and across the ground. Raolin readied to cast another spell, but just then Estel called out, from the opposite side of the chamber from where he had been before.

"Hey, I found something! Over here!"

Raolin shot the blast of cold, putting another wall of ice in the dragon's path, then turned and ran toward the sound of Estel's voice. There came a crash behind him as the dragon charged through the ice, screeching in a fury as it pursued him.

Estel waved toward a dark hole on the ground, in an indent in the wall which had just looked like a shadowy crack at a distance. As soon as he reached it, Raolin dropped down and slid into it feet first, and the passage was so slick that he vanished down it at once. Estel swung in after him, and the dragon's teeth snapped shut where he had been just as his head whisked out of sight.

The narrow tunnel did not go very far before dumping the two companions into a new chamber. They scrambled to their feet and turned to face the tunnel, listening as the dragon raged at the entrance above.

"Well," Estel said, breathing hard. "I guess that went about as good as it could've. We're not dead, anyway."

"Not yet," Raolin said. He struggled to catch his breath, and the hand holding his puffball flame trembled slightly. As a precaution against further poisonous fumes, he cast another Blizzard spell up the tunnel, sealing it. "And not by that particular foe."

"Cheerful."

Estel looked around. The cavern they had tumbled into was small, only about the size of one of the cabins on the _Phaëton_. It led directly onto a passage nearly as wide that bent away to the left. Estel checked along this for a short distance, then returned to Raolin, still standing near the tunnel.

"Looks like this isn't a dead end. We might still be able to get where we wanna go from here."

After a moment, Raolin nodded.

"I'll have to look for myself, but I believe you're right. At the moment, however, we need to pause our search." He sat down on the ground, his breathing still rough and labored. "I didn't come out of that fight in what you would call good shape."

Estel winced. "Yeah, I was worried about that. I saw that breath shot that thing pulled on you."

He crouched down by Raolin, and, without asking permission, removed his hat and pulled down his collar and the cloth around his face. In the light of the two puffball flames, he could see that the skin around Raolin's eyes had begun darkening ominously, with thin capillaries standing out stark and black against his pale skin. Estel grimaced and shook his head.

"Shit. That looks bad." He looked worriedly at Raolin. "There anything we can do about it? I mean, is there an antidote for this, or what?"

"Yes, but it will take some time to work. Hence my statement that we would have to postpone our search for a moment."

Raolin did indeed have an appropriate antidote in his pack—part of the supply stock purchased in Gaia—and he administered it to himself at once, stabbing the needle into his arm and squeezing the malleable bottle to force the liquid into a vein. For a moment immediately after this, his appearance grew much worse, the dark lines around his eyes thickening and spreading, sweat running down his face, chills assailing him, and his breathing growing horribly constricted. After just a few minutes, however, these symptoms began to subside. Estel watched this progression with wide, worried eyes.

"You…look, you sure you're gonna be okay?"

Raolin nodded. He kept his breathing slow and even, as much as he could.

"I should have been this poorly off as soon as I breathed the gas. I Slowed the toxins once they were in my body, postponing their full effects until I could administer the proper antidote."

Estel stared. "You can do stuff like that?"

"Yes. It takes a great deal of training, practice and focus to be able to do so, however. I just happened to have two very remarkable teachers instructing me."

"…Oh. Right."

Estel did not press the issue after that. He seated himself more comfortably on the ground beside Raolin and waited for the antidote to finish its work. The two puffball flames bobbed around the perimeter of the small cavern, their glow shimmering off the smooth, milk-colored walls and ceiling.

"So do I get to learn how to make one of those next?" Estel asked at length, nodding toward one of the little fireballs.

Raolin, who had slouched forward with his head bowed, looked up to see what Estel was talking about.

"Of course. Light spells are among the very simplest to cast, for both schools of magic. Even if ours are slightly more dangerous," he added.

"Yeah, the fire and everything. Right. And then what can I learn to do?"

Raolin stayed silent for a while, considering the question.

"Basic attack spells, at first," he replied at last. "After that, given your natural skills and the new tricks Lord Bahamut gave you, I would suggest that you focus more on spells that confound and impede enemies, and those that enhance yourself."

"Like Slow and Fast?" Estel asked.

"Yes. There are also spells that can blind and paralyze, and ones that increase physical fortitude. You should employ your skills in ways that support your established method of fighting, rather than trying to change your style to rely fully on magic."

"Right. You don't even do that all the time; you'd use your staff or stab things almost as much as you lit stuff on fire."

"Exactly. It's foolish to solely use magic when fighting; the chance of exhausting yourself is too great. You can base your style around magic and supplement it with physical tactics, or you can do the reverse. I do the former, while I believe you would do better with the latter. I imagine spells such as Darkness and Haste would be of great benefit to a ninja, particularly if combined with some spells of Sapphire's, such as Invis."

"Yeah…" Estel fell silent, thinking about this. A bit of a sly smile tugged at his mouth. "Yeah, that'd be great. An invisible assassin. That would kick ass. That last Fiend wouldn't know what hit her."

"With any luck."

Raolin took a potion from his pack and drank it, then after a minute or so he got to his feet, putting one hand to the wall to steady himself. He stood there in silence for a moment, taking deep breaths, then straightened up, wobbling just slightly. Estel hopped up at once, ready to help him if necessary. Raolin waved him off, and he obliged, backing away and instead picking up Raolin's hat and handing it to him.

"We ready to go?"

"I believe so." Raolin set his hat back in place and put the antidote-soaked cloth and his collar over his mouth. "Let's see if this detour has helped us or hindered us."

He and Estel set off again. It turned out the alternate route did indeed help their progress; it brought them a little ahead of where Raolin guessed their original path would have taken them and led in more or less the direction they wanted to go. Once this had been established, Raolin and Estel went along more quickly through the caves, even though the path became more winding and narrow, sometimes naturally, sometimes forced by cave-ins. They encountered no more dragons and saw fewer signs of them; Raolin suspected they had fled the immediate area around the impact site.

At last, they found what they were looking for. Their path constricted down to a small tunnel, so tiny that they had to crawl on their stomachs one at a time to get through it, and even then it was a mercy that the stone was so slick. They emerged on the other side to find a fair-sized chamber with a mound of rubble in the center. A weak beam of light fell down on it from a hole in the ceiling above, giving faint illumination to the tall heap of dirt, stone, and broken branches.

Estel pulled off his bandana and grinned. "Alright. Score one for us."

Raolin, on the other hand, went right to business.

"Start searching for the object. This trip will have been wasted if we can't find what we're seeking."

"Right, right…"

Estel hurried forward and began scouring the cavern, rooting through the mound of debris in search of anything out of the ordinary. Raolin did the same, working in the opposite direction from Estel.

After just a few minutes, Estel gave a triumphant cry.

"Hey, I think I found it!"

Raolin left his own search and rounded the debris to where Estel stood. At his feet, an edge of pale silver metal protruded from the fallen earth. As soon as Raolin reached him, Estel began digging to uncover the object, and Raolin moved forward to assist him. Before too long, the object lay fully revealed before them.

It had the shape of a human, as Kope had said, though somewhat blocky and with odd proportions: short legs, and cylindrical arms ending in heavy, crablike claws that came past its knees. Its torso was broad and square, with an array of dials and little glass lights across it; all the lights were dark. The head was a tapered cylinder, with a panel of glass at the front that had cracked and splintered in the crash. That was far from the worst damage: long gashes marred the metal of the limbs and body, which in places looked scorched. One arm had been almost entirely ripped loose, held in place by only a thin strip of metal. From the gashes and damaged parts, multicolored wires protruded, some crackling and spitting sparks. In one long gouge across the lower torso, strange, clear tubes could be seen in the dim light, along with thick tangles of wires and green panels dotted and striped with gold. In the dirt beside this fallen creature, near one of its clamp-like hands, lay a dark, featureless cube.

"What is it?" Estel asked, his eyes wide.

"…I don't know." Raolin knelt down next to the object to study it more closely. "I've never heard of anything like this."

A bit wary, Estel kept his distance, watching as Raolin examined the strange machine. After a minute, however, Raolin shook his head and turned his attention to the cube lying nearby. He picked it up, holding it up in the light so he could see it better.

"Estel, come look at this."

Carefully side-stepping the broken machine, Estel moved to stand beside Raolin. Turning the cube a bit to catch the light better, Raolin pointed at something on its side.

"Does this look familiar to you?"

Estel leaned in, peering at the smooth, dark surface. On closer inspection, the cube was not featureless, but covered by a network of thin, perfectly straight lines and small square dots, somewhat darker than the rest of the surface. Estel's eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, that's just like on the levistone!"

Raolin nodded. "Exactly. So whatever these devices are, they are clearly of Lufenian origin, just as you and Sapphire suspected."

"So this probably _is_ a clue about getting to the Wind Shrine," Estel said, some of his enthusiasm returning.

"Very likely. Though a clue is of little use if one is unable to decipher it."

"Well, that's why we're goin' to see Tris about it, right?"

"Yes, but that will still only yield partial information." Raolin looked down at the broken metal creature. "Here we have something that could provide us with perfect details on what we need to do, but it is unable to do so. Wherever it came from, it must have had to flee with this cube in great desperation, without time to adequately plan its escape. Otherwise, it may have made a better landing and been able to deliver any necessary messages."

"D'you think we could take it with us?" Estel asked. "Maybe Tris or Unne could do something with it, fix it or something."

Raolin's eyes narrowed in thought. "That is a possibility. Handling or moving it may damage it further, however, and ruin whatever usefulness it might still possess."

"Ooh, yeah." Estel winced. "Good point; it's in pretty rotten shape already."

He looked over at the creature, then knelt down next to it. He picked up one of its clamps and turned it, but he could not make it open; whatever mechanism controlled its grip kept it tightly shut. Estel avoided touching the exposed wires shooting random bursts of blue and yellow sparks, but he did peer inside the gash along the creature's torso, frowning at the tubes and strange green boards. He straightened and reached up to the bucket-shaped head, pivoting it a little.

Then the lights on the creature's chest lit up, and a grinding, whirring noise started somewhere inside it. Estel jerked away with a yelp, and Raolin spun around to see what had happened. The metal heap rattled, and the glass on its head lit up with two round, eye-like dots that immediately fixed on Raolin and Estel; the images warped and crackled, cutting in and out as the machine fought to work properly. Estel rose to his feet and edged away, and as he did, the machine began to talk.

Its voice was metallic and grating, crackling with static, and was a discomfiting monotone. Neither of the companions could understand it, as it used a language far different from Common or Onracean. Sparks began to fly more rapidly from it as it went on, struggling to deliver its message, and then there came the sudden sound of something bursting, and sparks and shards of glass flew from the gash in the creature's torso, followed by thin trails of smoke. The lights on the creature's chest went out again, and its face went blank. The issue of sparks dwindled to nothing.

Raolin and Estel stared at the fallen creature with unease and alarm.

"I killed it," Estel said, sounding slightly horrified with himself.

"…I doubt it would have lasted very long here, even without our interference." Raolin looked down at the cube in his hands. "All we can do now is go to Tristan and get what information we can about what has happened. This creature brought about its own destruction to bring this cube here; the least we can do in return is find out why."

"Right." Estel looked very somber as he stared down at the now silent metallic creature lying in the dirt. He remained like that for a while before speaking again. "…We gotta take it with us. Even if it's all broken, we can't leave it here."

After a moment, Raolin nodded.

"I concur. We'll need to be very cautious in handling it, however."

"Can you Teleport stuff like that?"

"Yes, but it must be clear of that debris first. Let's move away what we can, and then move it out to the open floor."

And the pair set to work, while the creature lay silent, its blank faceplate staring toward the hole in the ceiling.


	42. Language Barriers

**Chapter 42: Language Barriers**

Even from the air, Melmond looked nearly unrecognizable from the last time the Light Warriors had been there. The grey, sickened landscape had transformed: changing from stagnant swamps to rich fields, tilled and green with crops in the advancing summer. The city wall looked whole, as did the criss-cross of cobbled roads, and the companions could even see some scaffolding: proof of construction of new buildings.

Also unlike their first visit, the companions got immediate attention when they arrived. Though they landed the _Phaëton_ at a distance from the city, they could not go completely unnoticed as they had in the secluded Gaia or fog-shrouded Onrac; people working out in the fields looked up with shouts of surprise as the airship soared past, and a few ran toward Melmond to alert others. Estel, standing at the railing, could not help grinning a little over this.

"Now _that's_ what I've been waitin' for. What d'you think they think this is?"

At the helm, Raolin only shook his head.

"I can't begin to guess."

They settled the _Phaëton_ down just beyond the outlying fields. Cen still refused to leave his cabin or speak to the other Warriors, so Estel, Sapphire, and Raolin disembarked without him. They were not surprised to find a small crowd outside to greet them, though more with wide-eyed astonishment than friendly greeting. Estel decided this would suffice, though, and he grinned and waved at them while Raolin activated the hidden control to close the gangway from the ground.

Once the ship was secured, the trio started toward the city, just a short walk away, leaving the field workers behind to mill around and whisper over the ship. They had scarcely been walking for ten minutes, however, when Estel spotted a figure approaching from Melmond.

"Hey…is that…?"

He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the bright afternoon sunlight, squinting at first, then his eyes widened as he recognized the person's bright red clothes and hat.

"Tristan!"

Raolin smiled slightly behind his collar. "Of course. It's only reasonable that he would be one of the first people the townsfolk would tell about a sight like this."

The distance between them closed fast: Tristan was almost sprinting in his haste, his long white-blond hair streaming behind him. He stopped short as he reached the companions, just avoiding running headlong into them, but he did not look at them, just staring past at the _Phaëton_ with wide eyes.

"Impossible," he said. "That can't be—" He broke off, out of breath from running, and just stared.

"Nice, huh?" Estel said. He was grinning ear to ear, and seemed barely able to keep from laughing. "It's for sale if you're interested; we got it dirt cheap, so we can give you a hell of a deal."

Tristan made an indistinct gulping sound, then he finally looked down at the companions. He stared at them for a second, then gave a shout of surprise as he recognized them.

"Estel! Sapphire, Rath! That…that ship is _yours_?!"

At that, Estel gave up and burst out laughing. This earned a slightly chastising look from Raolin, but Sapphire sighed and shook her head, smiling just a bit.

"Our apologies," Raolin said. "He's spent the last week anticipating your reaction to our arrival, and apparently it surpassed all expectations."

Tristan's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment, then he looked back at the _Phaëton_ again, its ruddy sides rich and glowing in the sun, in bright contrast to the rolling green hills behind it.

"How?" he managed at last. "Where? _How_?"

"Long story," Estel said, wiping his eyes as he tried to get control of himself. "Gods, Tris, you should see the look on your face right now."

"Be nice," Sapphire chided lightly.

"We found it south of Crescent Lake," Raolin said, glancing back at the airship as well. "Per your suppositions, I believe. Tristan. As for the 'how', Estel is correct; there is some considerable explanation needed."

"Right." Tristan sounded slightly dazed. "Of course. That's…" He trailed off and looked back at the companions. There was a pause, and then his stunned amazement gave way to a frown.

"Where's Cen?"

All the levity went out of the atmosphere. Estel and Sapphire exchanged glances.

"He's, er." Estel hesitated, looking uncomfortable. "He's over on the ship. He hasn't been feelin' too good lately."

Raolin averted his gaze. What remained of Tristan's astonishment vanished at once, replaced by intensity and concern.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing life-threatening," Estel said hurriedly. "He's just real down in the dumps. That's part of why we stopped by; we thought maybe you could help us out with that, since he won't talk to any of us."

Tristan relaxed a bit, but the frown did not leave his face.

"It looks like we have quite a lot to talk about," he said. "Maybe we should head back to the house; we can discuss things over dinner."

* * *

They chatted on the walk through the fields back to Melmond, keeping the subject light. The companions asked after Kirien and the children, and about how Melmond had been recovering from its harrowing experience with Lich's zombie army, all of which Tristan was more than glad to tell them about. As the view from above had hinted, the city was recovering well, and even the forays into the destroyed towns had a positive side, as they had discovered a few handfuls of survivors in the ruins. The recovery had been going so well, in fact, that the governor was already putting together plans to restore these ruined towns as well, something they had not anticipated being able to do for some months yet.

"Thanks to you, you know," Tristan said, with a smile that he could not quite get all the worry out of. "I still can't get over how much you've done for us."

Estel shrugged and gave a half-smile. "Well, hey, we do what we gotta do. Wouldn't wish this job on anyone else, that's for damn sure, but we're doing our best."

"Well, it's still amazing. And I've heard how things went in Crescent, dealing with the Fire Crystal. I've read books shorter than the letter Mother wrote me about it."

Estel snorted. "Oh, I'll bet. Yeah, that was something. We'll fill in the whole story for you later too."

"I'm looking forward to hearing it." This time, Tristan managed a more relaxed smile. "Are you done with it all, then?"

"Nah, not quite," Estel said. "Got one more stop to make. That's actually the other thing we came here to talk to you about."

"Oh?"

Sapphire nodded. "We've only found a couple of clues, but they seem to be pointing to Lufenia. We were hoping you might have some advice or information that would help us."

"Hm. Interesting." Tristan fell silent for a moment. "Well, it will depend very much on these clues, but I'll see what I can do."

Sapphire beamed. "Thank you, Tristan."

"Yeah, thanks," Estel said, and Raolin nodded his agreement.

The discussion rambled on to other subjects as the group walked, and in almost no time, they reached the walls of Melmond and passed through the gate into the city. The entire place had changed since the companions had last seen it: alive and bustling and vibrant instead of crumbling and dim and fearful. Tristan pointed out a few more noteworthy changes as they proceeded along the neatly cobbled streets toward his house: the revitalized market district; the cleared ground where the destroyed church had been, now rededicated and ready for construction on a new church to begin; the repaired and reinforced city wall. The companions were all amazed by the progress, but none moreso than Sapphire, who exclaimed delightedly over the improvements and how much healthier the city had become.

They reached Tristan's house in its now-pleasant neighborhood, and a note of familiarity finally appeared: an enthusiastic greeting from Tristan's children. Though they did, like their father, wonder where Cen was, Tristan managed to divert it by saying Cen was busy with hero things and would be there later if he could. Estel immediately volunteered to and help Kirien and Lexa with dinner, so Sapphire and Raolin went outside with Tristan and the children. This did wonders for Raolin; he seemed almost cheerful as he directed the children in a catching game out on the lawn before the house, and it took very little wheedling from Kole, Seth, and little Nici to get him to join in. Sapphire beamed as she watched them while she chatted with Tristan. Before long, however, Estel came outside to announce dinner was ready, and the group proceeded into the house and to the dining room table.

While they ate, the children distracted by the food and teasing one another, Estel took it upon himself to relay the frequently dramatic and occasionally unpleasant tale of the companions' adventures so far to his adoptive brother. Raolin, of course, kept clear of this outside of shooting Estel a warning look at the outset before focusing intently on his food. Estel managed to keep events mostly in chronological order this time, covering things almost up through the wreck of the _Phaëton_. While Tristan was fascinated by their discovery and use of the airship, his serious demeanor remained in place as he listened to Estel talk, and he asked questions at every step.

They postponed the rest of the discussion until dinner was over; just from what Tristan had heard, he did not think it was something that should be talked about in front of the children. After the meal, Tristan shooed the children outside to play again, and he, Estel, Raolin, and Sapphire settled in the front parlor. Estel resumed his tale, now assisted by Sapphire and, very rarely, Raolin. He told about their surprise meeting with Bahamut and their harrowing experience in the Citadel of Trials. He told about finding Esme in Gaia, and, despite the serious tone of the gathering, Tristan did smile and congratulate him on the reunion.

After that, the story became more sparse. Estel glossed over much of what happened in Onrac, particularly avoiding saying too much about Raolin's difficulties; the most he did was mention how Raolin had fallen ill, thus delaying their departure. Noticing the companions' discomfort, Tristan did not question the obvious omissions here as he had asked about everything else so far. He just let Estel promise to explain more later, then brush through the narrative and pick up with the expedition into the waterfall cavern to retrieve the object that had fallen from the sky. Then he made up for his silence by asking extensive questions about the cube and the strange metal creature. Estel chuckled a little.

"You'll be able to check that out yourself," he said. "We brought it all back with us; it's back at the ship."

Tristan's eyes widened. "Really?"

"We knew you would not have forgiven us if we hadn't," Raolin said with a bit of a smile. He actually had his collar down for once.

Estel concluded his story with his and Raolin's departure from the cavern and the group's journey back to Melmond. The room fell silent, the companions giving Tristan time to go over all the information he had just received. He sat in his chair, his legs crossed and his forehead pressed against his steepled fingers. Estel and Sapphire, seated side by side on the sofa, and Raolin in a chair opposite them watched him with anticipation.

"Well," Tristan said at last. "I can see you've been through quite a lot since I saw you last. And I can also see that you haven't quite told me all of it."

"Er…" Estel glanced at Raolin. "Well, that's kinda…"

"You can tell him later," Raolin interrupted. He kept his expression impassive beneath the brim of his hat. "When I can be elsewhere and avoid having to listen."

Sapphire frowned in concern. "Are you sure? If you'd really rather we didn't—"

"He will need to know it sooner or later, particularly if he hopes to even attempt to understand what is wrong with Cen. As I see it, the two issues are not unrelated."

"I see." Tristan's attention fixed on Raolin, and his voice was hard as he spoke. "Is there anything you can tell me now, yourself? You know I don't appreciate people treating my brothers badly, and if you've done something to Cen then you and I are going to have a few words in private."

"I did nothing to Cen," Raolin said. "We have had a difference of opinion on some past actions of mine, that's all."

Tristan nodded, but he did not look entirely placated.

"We'll deal with that later, then." He turned back to Estel, and his demeanor became more professional. "Now. You came here because you wanted me to have a look at that cube you found, is that right?"

"Yeah, it is. Here." Estel rummaged around in his pack, sitting on the floor by his feet, and unearthed the dark cube. He rose and handed it to Tristan. "We didn't know what to think at first, but then we saw that the lines on it are almost exactly the same as the ones on the levistone, so we though maybe it does something kind of like that does. But, y'know." He shrugged and returned to his seat on the sofa. "You'd know better than us. What do you think?"

"Well, let me have a look at it first."

The group sat in silence as Tristan studied the cube. After several minutes, he rose from his chair, left the room, and then returned with a stack of notes under one arm; he spread them out on the coffee table in the center of the room and flipped through and consulted them as he continued his inspection. Raolin watched him intently, waiting, while Estel soon became bored, slouching back in his seat and leaning against Sapphire beside him. She patted his hand reassuringly.

At last, Tristan looked up from the notes and turned to the companions.

"Well, all else aside, this is an extraordinary find. I've never seen or heard of anything else like it before."

Estel sat up when Tristan spoke, but now he wilted a bit.

"So you don't know what it does," he said flatly.

"I'm sorry, but no, I don't. Your guess about it is just about as good as any, at this point. But, from what you told me about where it came from, I can at least make a few guesses about that."

"Oh yeah?" Estel perked up again.

"Yes. You said it fell out of the sky. Well…" Tristan shuffled through the papers laid out before him and drew out a particular page: it showed a picture, copied form a much older original, of what looked like a castle floating among the clouds. "At the height of their power, the Lufenians supposedly attained the ability not only to travel through the air, but also to hold actual buildings up in the sky. The more that Unne and I uncover, the more we're coming to believe this was true."

Estel nodded. "Yeah, I think Kope said you told him something about that."

"So you know what I'm talking about." Tristan put the drawing aside. "Well, it might just be that this creature you saw came from one of those floating buildings. We had thought they had all fallen along with the Lufenians' empire, but it's possible that one remained. With the disappearance of Wind magic, though, the only way for a building to stay airborne…"

"…is if it contained the Wind Crystal," Raolin finished. "The Fiend will have been draining its energy, but if she's anything like the others, she will have a flair for the dramatic, and a flying fortress impresses more that does one on the ground."

"So we were right." Estel grinned. "I knew this was a clue, as soon as we saw it fallin'. We just need to find this floating building and then we're done with this mess."

"That might be easier said than done, though," Tristan pointed out.

"Where could we start looking?" Sapphire asked.

Tristan shuffled through his papers again, this time bringing out a map. It showed the entirety of the continent north of Cornelia, a large bulk in the center with slender peninsulas jutting from the sides, like the wings of a bird, and at the northeast corner, a protrusion like a bird's head, where the country of Gaia lay. The companions gathered around the table, kneeling to get a better look at the map.

"Here…" Tristan pointed to the main body of the continent. "…is where the Lufenian empire used to be. It's nothing but a desert now, though, and one so inhospitable that hardly anything can live there. If I had to guess, I'd say that the Shrine would be somewhere above this region."

"We flew right over that desert, though," Sapphire said, frowning. "We didn't see anything up in the sky, and there were plenty of clear days."

"Maybe it was up higher," Tristan suggested. "That's the problem with working with things in the air: you have a whole extra dimension to consider."

"What if it's up higher than the airship can reach?"

"That could be what this cube is for." Tristan picked up the cube and turned it over in his hands. "I think Estel's right; this could work as a power source or controller for something, just like the levistone. It might be the key to getting from the surface to the Shrine."

"So, there'll be something down on the ground, a place where we can stick this cube, and from there we can get up to the Shrine?" Estel asked, looking puzzled.

"This is all just speculation," Tristan said, setting the cube back on the table beside the map. "I told you, Unne and I have never seen anything like this before; I'm only guessing based on things we _have_ seen, and on what you've been able to tell me."

"What can we do to find out for certain?" Raolin asked.

Tristan leaned back in his chair and thought for a minute.

"Well, the most obvious course would be to go out to the desert and look for where this cube goes. The airship would make this much easier than it would be otherwise, but it would still take time, and it's a possibility that the place couldn't be seen from the air. It might be hidden, just like the airship itself was. Another way is… Well, this is much less concrete. But we could also go here." He pointed to the map, at the long peninsula sprouting from the east side of the continent and then bending south. "It's the last known place where the Lufenians settled before their civilization vanished. Nearly everything in the desert has been destroyed, but there might still be some ruins here, and maybe some information about how to get to the Shrine. Of course, I don't know for certain; that peninsula is surrounded by high cliffs, making it impossible to get there from the sea, so Unne has never been able to set up an expedition there. But if there's anywhere that we could find new information, this would probably be it."

"Hrm." Estel returned to his seat on the sofa and slouched there. "Well, we could get there now, with the airship. And you're makin' it sound like that's our best bet for figurin' out what to do with this cube thing."

"It could very well be. Don't get any false hopes, though; it could just as easily be a dead end. Archeology is like that sometimes. It can take years to find the one tiny detail that you were looking for."

"That may be," Raolin said. "If you believe it's worth investigation, however, then I for one trust your judgment. We could be at the peninsula one week from now, if we leave tomorrow."

"Then I think we should do that," Tristan replied at once. "Normally, I would say we should wait for Unne to set up an expedition to accompany us, but he's away in Cornelia petitioning for more funding for our research, and he'll be gone for quite a while. And I'm pretty sure you all don't want to put off the end of your task, now that you're so close to finishing it."

"No kidding," Estel said fervently. "I'm plenty ready to get this over with."

Sapphire and Raolin both nodded their agreement.

"All right then." Tristan started cleaning up the notes covering the table. "You can stay here at the house tonight, and we'll leave in the morning."

"Thank you so much for helping us, Tristan," Sapphire said. "We would be lost right now otherwise."

"Anything for my brothers and their friends." Tristan smiled. "I would be helping even if this didn't give me the opportunity of a lifetime."

"I think this is quite the opportunity for all of us," Raolin put in. "Not everyone gets the chance to discover the ruins of a lost civilization."

"Exactly." Tristan got to his feet, papers stacked neatly in his arms. "I'm going to go talk to Kirien about this; it _is_ a bit different from my past research trips, after all." He gave a slightly exaggerated sigh, though it was clearly good-natured. "This might take a while."

"Tell her we promise to take extra good care of you," Estel said, grinning.

"I'm sure that will be a great comfort to her."

Tristan left the room, and the companions turned to one another to discuss this latest turn of events.

* * *

The companions spent the rest of the evening planning and picking up supplies for the journey, while Tristan discussed the situation with Kirien and began gathering his own gear and research notes to take with him. Though the general situation was the same—packing to go on a long, likely dangerous journey—the atmosphere was much lighter this time; even with all the companions had gone through, they still found Tristan's excitement for the trip somewhat contagious.

The next morning dawned bright and fair, without a cloud in the sky. Estel, Sapphire, and Raolin, now accompanied by Tristan, left Melmond shortly after breakfast. Kirien and the children saw them off from the city gates.

"Be good for your mother," Tristan said as he kissed his children goodbye.

"We will," Lexa said.

"Will you bring us back presents?" Seth asked.

At the sound of the word 'presents', the other children took up the cry.

"Yes, please, bring us something back, Dad!"

"Please? You didn't bring stuff for us last time!"

"Presents, presents!"

"Stop, stop!" Tristan cried, laughing. "I can't hear myself think!" He waited for the children to calm down, then continued. "I'll _try_ to get presents, but I'm not promising anything. This is a very important job we have to do. Do you all understand?"

A chorus of affirmatives came as a reply.

"Good."

After that, Tristan drew Kirien aside to give her a more personal farewell, and Estel and Raolin kept the children occupied to give the pair some privacy. Once all the goodbyes and well-wishes had been given, Tristan and the others left, heading down the road that led through the rich farmland to the south and waving back over their shoulders until Kirien and the children turned and went back into the city.

"You're gonna love the ship, Tris," Estel said, grinning.

"I'm sure I will. It's amazing that you were able to find it, and even more amazing that it still works after being buried for four hundred years. Lufenian technology certainly is astounding."

"You're tellin' us."

"Are you really sure we'll be able to find what we're looking for in these ruins?" Sapphire asked. She and Raolin walked a bit behind Estel and Tristan, helping to carry the cases of Tristan's books and notes.

"As sure as I can be," Tristan said, glancing back at her. "At the very least, I expect to find clues that will point us in the right direction."

"I just wish they'd been up front with this clue like they were with the others," Estel said. "We're almost done; you'd think they'd wanna save us some trouble."

Tristan smiled. "You wouldn't learn anything that way, Estel."

"Yeah, yeah." Estel sighed. "Being miserable builds character. Right."

Sapphire giggled, and Raolin rolled his eyes.

It took longer to return to the ship this time, as they were laden down with their supplies, but it still was a short walk all things considered. It immediately became apparent that Tristan's reaction to the airship yesterday had just been the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. The red mage was speechless as he stared up at the smooth wooden hull, at the network of cables and propellers, and even the burnished nameplate at the bow. Estel, laughing at Tristan's reaction, grabbed him by the arm and led him up the gangway onto the airship, pointing out yet more wonders as they passed through the hold—the engine, the water system—and finally up to the deck. There, Estel showed off the levistone, while Sapphire and Raolin obligingly took Tristan's books and other gear back into a cabin for him. When they returned, Tristan was finally starting to get his voice back.

"This…this is the most spectacular thing I've ever seen in my life."

"Told you," Estel said, looking entirely too pleased with himself, as though the airship was something of his own making rather than something he had happened to find.

"How fast can it go?"

"Pretty damn fast. We could get from here to Crescent in a week, and that's goin' the long way. The short way, just a couple days. And we don't gotta worry about gettin' blown off, 'cause it's got this magic barrier you can put up to block the wind."

"Oh, gods…"

"We've got your things put away, Tristan," Sapphire said. "We picked a cabin at the back, just a couple down from Cen, but if you want a different one, we can move things for you."

"Hm?" Tristan, still a little dazed, turned to look at her. "Oh, yes. No, I'm sure the room you've picked is fine. Thank you."

"Wait 'til you see what they've got in those rooms," Estel put in. "It's the coolest stuff. Like with the washbasin, it's got this thing—"

"Oh, that reminds me!" Sapphire turned to Raolin. "We need to see about getting the water tanks refilled; it's been over a week."

Raolin nodded. "That's a very good idea." He glanced at Estel and Tristan, back in the throes of their discussion of the airship. "Let's go down and check them now, in that case. I doubt those two will miss us."

The companions did not get underway until well after noon; Tristan, overcome by scholarly fascination, had wanted to examine every part of the _Phaëton_ in minute detail before they took off, and then went down to study the engine again once it was running. Estel was only too happy to encourage this, as it let him gush about the ship more as well, and Raolin and Sapphire were content to let the pair carry on as much as they liked. After refilling the water tanks, Raolin and Sapphire took advantage of the continued delay by going to post a couple of letters: Sapphire sent a message to Elfheim, requesting they send aid to the people of Onrac—Raolin, looking grave, had agreed with this idea—while Raolin himself, with some difficulty, penned a quick letter to Princess Sarah in Cornelia. Sapphire smiled over this, but did not comment.

When they finally returned to the ship, Raolin took the levistone and set the _Phaëton_ on a northeasterly course, over the mountains of Duergar. Sapphire stayed out on deck with him, while Tristan and Estel went back to Tristan's cabin. Justifiably distracted, Tristan worked on getting his things stowed away properly, and Estel sat backwards in a chair and watched as they continued to talk about the ship. After a while, however, a bit of a lull fell, mostly because Estel could give no real answers to any of Tristan's more technical questions.

"Well, I'll have to see what I can discover on my own," Tristan said after some thought. "Once I've figured out what's wrong with Cen, that is." He straightened up from storing a pile of books in a cupboard and looked at Estel. "How about you explain to me what's happened already."

Estel sighed, his buoyancy draining away. "Yeah, all right. This is rotten stuff, though. Everything that happened in Onrac was rotten."

"I gathered as much, since Rath didn't want to talk about it."

"Raolin," Estel corrected. "And yeah, I don't blame him. _I_ sure wouldn't wanna talk about it, if I was him."

With that, he explained what had transpired during the companions' stay in Onrac. Tristan sat down on his bed and listened in silence as Estel described Raolin's issues, the companions' reactions to it, and the final resolution. Estel finished with his confrontation with Cen, looking bitter and confused about it, then fell silent as well.

Tristan exhaled heavily. "Whew. That's…something." He glanced toward the cabin door. "That poor boy. I can't even imagine…"

"Yeah, I know," Estel said, very subdued now. "I really don't think Cen has a good excuse for bein' as pissed off as he is about it, though."

"…I think I might know why he is," Tristan said after a moment of consideration. "I'm not completely sure, but it could be worth checking."

"So you think you can talk him out of it?"

"I'm definitely going to try. He's my brother; I'm not going to just leave him to wallow in self-imposed misery."

Tristan got to his feet and left the cabin; Estel poked his head out the door to watch him go, then exited as well, heading across the common room and out on deck. Tristan walked down Cen's door and knocked.

"Go away!" Cen snapped without opening the door.

"My, you're quite the ray of sunshine today, aren't you?" Tristan said, sounding utterly casual. "It sounds like your friends were right to ask me to talk to you."

There was a long pause.

"…Tris?" The door opened a crack, and half of Cen's face appeared in the gap. "What are you doing here?"

Tristan gestured back over his shoulder toward the outside door. "Your friends collected me. They said they needed some help with a couple of things, so I'm tagging along with you for a while."

Cen scowled. "'Friends', huh?"

"Yes, exactly." Tristan nodded toward Cen. "May I come in? I think we need to have a little talk."

Cen did not open the door any farther. "Why did they get you? If it was just because of me—"

"It wasn't. Cen, open the door."

There was another pause, then Cen, with obvious reluctance, pulled the door open the rest of the way.

"All right, fine. Come in."

Tristan entered the room, and Cen shut the door behind him. The chamber was in disarray; all of Cen's gear lay strewn across the floor, along with a tangled knot composed of most of the bedclothes. An upturned chair lay abandoned in one corner.

Cen threaded his way across the mess on the floor and sat down cross-legged on the unmade bed.

"So why else did they get you?"

"To help them find the Wind Shrine," Tristan said, looking around the room with a slightly sorrowful expression. He turned to his brother. "Cen, what's going on with you? I haven't seen you in a state like this since you were a kid."

Cen slumped back against the wall and scowled, not meeting Tristan's gaze.

"Why don't you go ask Estel? I bet he'd love to tell you what an _idiot_ I've been."

Tristan's expression fell still further, and he shook his head and sighed. "I've already talked to Estel, and he said nothing of the sort."

"Yeah, well, that's what he told me."

"Look, Cen…" Tristan crossed the room, righted the over-turned chair, and sat. "I know you're angry, and to be honest I don't blame you. That was a lot to have happen in a short time; just about anyone would have a hard time dealing with it."

"You don't know the half of it," Cen muttered.

"You're right. I don't. Estel only told me enough that I'd have an idea about what was going on. So why don't you fill in the rest of it for me?"

Several times, Cen began to speak, but each time he stopped before he actually said anything. He struggled with this for a minute, while Tristan waited patiently for him to continue, then he shut his eyes and shook his head.

"No. I don't even know where to start. It's all so completely stupid, it wouldn't make any sense anyway."

"Ah…" Tristan nodded slowly. "Well, all right. If you say so, I'll believe you."

Cen relaxed slightly at this, but he did not look completely placated. He gave Tristan a sideways glance.

"You're not going to drop it, though, are you?"

Tristan shrugged. "We'll see. What about some of the other things that happened? I heard about some of what happened in Crescent and Mount Gulg. Mother wrote quite the letter to me about it."

After a pause, Cen actually smiled a little.

"Oh yeah?"

Tristan smiled back. "Of course. She couldn't be prouder of you. And there was something about the city holding a celebration as well?"

"A huge one." Cen straightened up. "I think just about everyone was there; it went on almost all night. …I gave a speech, even."

"What?" Tristan's eyes widened in surprise, then his smile returned. "Well, good job! Who managed to talk you into that?"

"Well, Mag and Valette were there, so…"

"Ah, that would explain it." Tristan leaned back in his chair. "I'm glad it all went well. I know how nervous you were about heading back home for this."

"Yeah." Cen shrugged. "It worked out. The fight was a mess at first, but we got it figured out in the end."

"Better than 'figured', from what the others told me. Estel said your swordwork was really impressive."

Cen stared at Tristan for a second, seeming unsure how to reply to this. In the end, he just shrugged.

"I just did what I could."

"The others all said you were exceptional," Tristan pressed, lightly. "The fiend was, what, a six-armed swordswoman, right? Kary, or something like that?"

"Marilith."

"Ah, that was it. I'll be honest, Cen: I've never met anyone who's a good enough warrior to defeat a creature like that. What you did was amazing."

Cen rubbed the back of his head and glanced away, looking self-conscious. After a second, he relaxed again and smiled.

"Thanks. That was a tough one; it's hard to keep track of that many swords at once. And the heat was rotten. At least we got to go somewhere cold after that."

"Yes, I think I'd appreciate a change after having to hike through a volcano too. And that was for the levistone, right?"

"Yeah."

"Hm." Tristan's expression became more serious. "And what about Father? Did he at least pretend to behave himself?"

Cen gave a derisive snort and shook his head.

"Yeah, right. It was like I'd never left. But—" He broke off with a frown, then he slouched back against the wall and looked away. "Well, I guess it went a little better than I thought it would. A little."

Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Cen nodded, but he did not expound on the matter. Tristan waited for a moment anyway, just in case, then he sighed.

"All right, fine." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Cen, you can't keep hiding in your room like this."

Cen frowned. "I'm not—"

"Yes, you are, now just listen to me for a minute. I know you're upset, but acting like this isn't going to help you. Estel and the others are worried, and don't you try to contradict that, because it's true. They don't hate you, they're not angry, they're just worried. They're willing to help if you'd let them."

Cen did not reply; he just looked away and slumped back against the wall. After a second, he picked up a pillow and threw it across the room; it hit the wall with a quiet thump and slid to the floor, settling down onto itself in a shapeless mound. Tristan went on, watching him.

"I don't know if I can really say what's bothering you so much. Just like you said, I wasn't there, and I don't know everything that happened. But I do know that you staying back here isn't going to fix anything, not for any of you."

Cen scowled. "It's not my fault if they don't give enough of a damn—"

"They _do_ give a damn, Cen," Tristan interrupted, his tone hardening slightly. "You're just not letting them prove it, because you somehow think this grudge is more important. But this is one of those times when you need to be the bigger man and take the first step toward fixing the problem. Otherwise, everyone's just standing around beating their heads against a wall, and that includes you."

Still, Cen just frowned. Tristan watched him for a moment, then he shook his head and got to his feet.

"All right. I've said what I can. I won't force you to do anything, but I hope you'll do what's right here."

"Sure," Cen said flatly. "I'll get right on that."

"There's no need for that kind of tone, Cen."

"Maybe I think there is."

Tristan began to retort, but then he gave up. He crossed the room to the door and reached out to open it. He looked back at Cen.

"I'll come back later." He tried half a smile. "You still need to tell me more about that battle."

Cen did not reply. Tristan sobered, then he shook his head again and left the cabin, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

"Any luck?" Estel asked hopefully as Tristan came back on deck. He had taken control of the levistone, and Raolin had retired to the side, skimming through one of Tristan's books.

Tristan shook his head. "I'm not sure. He's being very stubborn about this."

Estel gave an exasperated sigh. "So what the hell are we supposed to do, then?"

"For now, wait and see. I gave him a few things to think about, and hopefully he'll come to the right conclusion." Tristan crossed to the railing near where Raolin sat and leaned back against it. "Until then, we'll just have to be very considerate toward him. No confrontations, no snide remarks, none of that. Just be civil."

"We've been trying," Sapphire said. "He won't listen to us."

"I think Tristan makes a good point." Raolin glanced up, his eyes gleaming beneath the brim of his hat. "And besides, you put up with far worse from me, for far longer. Why give up so easily with Cen?"

Tristan nodded. "Exactly. Just remember not to do anything to antagonize him."

Estel smiled just a little. "Good thing you've lightened up, then, huh, Raolin?"

"…Yes," Raolin said after a slightly uncomfortable pause.

"About that." Tristan turned to Raolin. "Estel explained everything to me, and I just wanted to say—"

"I would rather not talk about it," Raolin interrupted. He did not look up from the book he held. "But thank you for your regard."

Tristan nodded. Then he turned to look out over the railing, watching the ground stream by beneath the airship, and he immediately strayed back into the realm of scholarly delight, marvelling at the vessel's speed.


	43. The Land that Time Forgot

**Chapter 43: The Land that Time Forgot**

The journey passed without much event. Estel and Sapphire took it in turns to steer the airship, while Tristan spent much of his time either poring over his books or studying the airship and the broken metal creature. Raolin alternated between the various activities, when he was not busy with Estel's magic lessons.

Their course took them northeast, over the equatorial ocean toward the northern continent that had once been home to the greatest empire in the history of the world. It had encompassed the entirety of the central bulk of the continent and all the countries therein, with a strong presence on the Onracean continent and as far south as the tips of the fledgling countries that would eventually join together into the great kingdom of Cornelia. The Lufenians' mastery of Wind-elemental magic allowed them to create things, such as their magnificent airships, that the rest of the world could only dream of, and even their mundane technologies were the marvel of all the nations they contacted. No one could imitate their wonders.

Then, at the height of its power, the Lufenian Empire fell.

It seemed to happen almost overnight, and for centuries, no one knew what had caused the collapse. It was only recently, thanks to the efforts of researchers such as Tristan and Dr. Unne, that some of the circumstances had come to light. There seemed to have been a rash of natural disasters that swept the empire: storms, plagues, infestations of Fallen dragons. But the most crippling blow came when the power of the Wind began to dwindle and, in widening ripples, fail, crushing the culture that depended so much on it. Within twenty years, the most powerful empire in the world was reduced to ruins, its people all slaughtered or scattered; within another twenty, the smaller nations who tried to rise from its ashes met an identical fate. The once populous, beautiful heart of the empire, an entire vast continent, had been reduced to a barren, rocky desolation swept by harsh winds.

The last known Lufenian outpost had been on the eastern peninsula of the continent. Dense, wild jungles comprised much of the land, making extensive settling of the area impractical, but the Lufenians did establish one city there. It too had vanished in the wake of the disasters, but there remained hope among researchers that the ruins of this city still stood, only waiting to be discovered.

Tristan explained all this to the Light Warriors one day early in the trip.

"Geez." At the levistone, Estel winced as Tristan concluded the story. "Have I said lately that the Fiends are assholes? 'Cause the Fiends are assholes."

"Though I would use different vocabulary, I agree whole-heartedly with the sentiment," Raolin said. He sat near the railing, leafing through one of Tristan's books, and in a rare show, he was not wearing his hat. The heavily overcast sky explained this; Raolin had confessed that some of the reason he kept covered up so entirely was because strong sunlight hurt his skin. "And I'm glad there's only one left for us to contend with."

"I absolutely can't blame you for that," Tristan said. He had dragged the table and a chair from his cabin out on deck, so he could talk with the others while he did his research, and he sat there now, surrounded by stacks of papers. "Hopefully, we'll be able to get the information we need quickly, so you can take care of that as soon as possible."

"So where do we need to go look?"

The companions looked up in surprise to see Cen standing in the doorway leading to the cabins. He glanced over at Estel and Sapphire and nodded to them, then his eyes skimmed past Raolin before pointedly returning to Tristan.

"For the ruins and all that."

Tristan waved him over to the table, looking as though he had completely expected Cen's arrival.

"Here, I'll show you."

Tristan pushed aside a few papers and rolled out a map, a replica of a very old and battered parchment. It showed the full continent, and toward the tip of the eastern peninsula, there was a mark indicating a city, nestled in the middle of the jungle. Tristan pointed this out, Cen looking over his shoulder.

"That's where the city was, so that's where we'll be looking. If we're lucky, there will be a place to land the ship nearby. Otherwise…" Tristan glanced a bit apologetically around at the companions. "We may have a bit of a hike ahead of us."

Cen shrugged. "That's nothing new."

"Yeah, we're pretty used to that by now," Estel agreed. "I think there's been like one time where we _didn't_ have to hike in. It'll be fine."

"All right." Tristan rolled up the map. "As long as you're prepared for the possibility, then."

"How are you feeling, Cen?" Sapphire asked, offering a smile.

Cen just shrugged again.

"I'm fine. I just needed a break."

The others had the good sense not to comment on the obvious. Sapphire just nodded in understanding, and Estel shot Cen a grin.

"Well, hey, good to have you back. Ready to kick some Fiend ass?"

This actually got a smile out of Cen.

"Hell yeah."

* * *

It took about a week and a half to reach the peninsula. Estel flew the ship over the spot where Tristan's map showed the city to be, but Tristan, Sapphire, and Raolin, watching over the railings, did not see anything that looked like ruins. This did not bother Tristan, though; after over three centuries, the jungle had surely grown over whatever structures remained. Equally expected was the lack of a suitable landing space; there did not seem to be a single foot of land bare of trees. It took another two days to find somewhere to land the airship: the only open space they found with enough room to accommodate the vessel was far to the north at the very top of the peninsula, in a narrow plain between the tall, rocky mountains and the verge of the dense forest. Estel settled the airship on the long grass, and the next morning, when they had their supplies assembled, the five companions set out, with Tristan leading the way.

Incredible foreign plant life greeted them as they headed into the forest: towering evergreens with massive, ruddy trunks, so tall that they made the group passing among them seem as small as ants; smaller conifers and deep green, pointed ferns nearly as large as people; tall, reed-like grasses; multitudes of pale-blossomed flowers on tall, slender stems. There were no paths through this strange, over-sized flora, so the group at first set out following a stream burbling along its bed down from the mountains to the lowlands. When the stream reached its destination, likely the lake marked on Tristan's map, the companions would have to forge their own way, which would prove more difficult. Tristan suspected it would take nearly a month to reach the area they were aiming for.

Their first look at the local fauna proved that the trip would at least be an interesting one, however.

The stream flowed into what passed as a clearing in this dense forest. The water cascaded down a short series of rocky steps into a mossy-banked pool, with what looked like several heaps of grey stone nearby in the sunlight-dappled glade. As the companions drew nearer, however, they could see that these were not giant boulders, but massive armored reptiles: stocky, with broad, flat heads, thick plates of slate-colored bone covering their backs and tails, and spikes protruding from their sides. The ends of their tails, swinging idly as they grazed on the tough reed-grass, were massive bone clubs. They seemed unaware of the five humans staring at them in amazement from the top of the waterfall.

Sapphire nearly shouted aloud, but both Tristan and Raolin shushed her.

"Don't startle them," Tristan whispered, watching the animals with fascination.

"What are they?" Estel asked, his eyes wide.

"Relics. These kinds of creatures were thought to have been wiped out along with everything else in the central continent." Tristan let out a shaky breath. "This is an _amazing_ discovery…"

"Will they attack us?" Sapphire asked, eyeing the creatures warily.

One of the animals looked up and finally noticed the group. It watched them for a moment, then it gave a snort and went back to its meal.

"I don't think so," Tristan said with a smile. "If we leave them alone, I imagine they'll do the same for us."

Raolin nodded. "We'll be no more than a passing curiosity."

"Exactly."

Tristan led the way down the hill, around the creatures, and back to the watercourse. The companions kept looking behind them until the armored animals disappeared from sight in the underbrush. They saw no more peculiar creatures as they marched that day, only the usual forest fare of birds and little scuttling things in the grass. As evening fell, however, the companions reached the small lake, and a spectacular sight met their eyes.

The lake spread out before them, reflecting the towering trees and the brilliant sunset above. The reed-grass, heavily tramped down in places, came nearly down to the shore, where tiny insects zipped and darted. A few dozen yards away from the companions, a herd of large reptilian creatures, bipedal and easily twice Tristan's height, followed one of these stamped-out paths on the way down to drink. Long crests protruded from the backs of their heads, and the creature at the lead lifted its head, turned back, and gave a cry like a trumpet blast. On the opposite side, another herd with different coloring and crests was already drinking. A few dozen yards along the shore from them stood a long-necked beast that towered up into the branches of the immense trees themselves. It gave a low call that the companions could feel in their bones, and somewhere far off in the forest to the south, others answered.

For a few minutes, none of the companions could speak.

"I can't believe I'm seeing this," Tristan whispered at last. His eyes were almost completely round as he stared from beneath the brim of his plumed red hat.

Raolin murmured something in Onracean with obvious awe, also staring beneath his hat. Estel swore, though at least in a more reverent tone than usual. Even Cen could not help but gape.

"Those can't be animals," Estel said. "No animal has any right to get _that big_." He pointed at the long-necked creature now lumbering along the lake shore in the direction of the answering calls. "They're dragons or something, right?"

Tristan shook his head. "They're just normal animals, Estel. Some of the most astounding animals I've ever seen, ones we've thought were lost forever. We're the first people to see them in centuries."

"…We need to get going, though," Cen said after a minute. "It's getting dark, and we need to find somewhere safe to camp. I know _I_ sure don't want to get stepped on by one of those things while I'm sleeping."

"Yeah, no kidding," Estel said with a grimace. "How're we gonna manage that, huh? Climb a tree?"

"That's as good an idea as any," Tristan said, smiling a bit. "Well, we'll see what we can do. Let's get going."

* * *

The trek, though long, proceeded with very little trouble. The only real delay came from Tristan, who insisted on stopping and studying each new creature they passed. There certainly were enough to keep him busy; in addition to the astounding animals the companions had already seen, there were dozens of others, from massive, lumbering quadripedal grazers with ridges of broad plates standing up along their backs, to sleek bipedal predators, man-high with long, hooked talons on their feet. In the trees above, strange flying animals like odd mixtures of birds and bats could be seen flapping among the branches, their squawking cries echoing through the canopy. Small, long-necked lizards, barely a foot tall and walking with a chicken-like posture, scurried around in the underbrush and occasionally followed the five travelers for a distance, making little chirruping noises and watching them with round, dark eyes.

The climate remained wet as the companions traveled. Mist frequently wreathed the forest in the mornings, making everything look indistinct and mysterious, and drizzly rainfall was common. As the group proceeded south, the plantlife began to change: though the towering redwood trees remained, the number of shorter coniferous trees diminished, replaced by taller, broad-leaf evergreens, their wide branches draped with woody vines and obscuring the sky. The undergrowth receded, though the ferns persisted in the rare sunny patches, along with a variety of shrubs with enormous leaves to catch the sparse sunlight. Most of the new plants sported large, brilliantly colored flowers, and birds, insects, and the odd flying reptiles, for so they were, often whirred around them.

Tristan led the way as he was the only one who knew what they were looking for, with Cen bringing up the rear. For a while, the group made good progress, especially once the undergrowth began to retreat. As they went further south, however, the temperature began to rise. The somewhat pleasant coolness of the moist air became a broiling humidity. Biting insects started to plague the companions. And one day, it began to rain and did not stop. The ground became a tree-studded expanse of slippery mud that was nearly impossible to traverse. By the time the companions set up camp that evening, in the broad branches of a tree to keep both out of the mud and away from the animals, they were filthy, exhausted, riddled with bug bites, and more than fed up with this latest stretch of their long journey.

"Screw this savin' the world bullshit. I wanna go home."

"Be patient, Estel," Tristan said, in a very long-suffering tone. He sat in his bedroll, tied securely to the branch to prevent him from falling out of the tree while he slept. "We're getting very close to where we need to be. We'll search for the information, and then we can leave."

"If that map's right," Estel shot back, the scowl not leaving his face.

"It's right."

"How much farther do you think it will be, Tristan?" Sapphire asked. Her sleeping bag, like the others' bedrolls, had been secured to a branch for the sake of safety. Above the group, Cen and Tristan had disassembled and stretched out one of their tents, tying it up to serve as a roof to keep off the rain. The patter of the drops above had become more tiresome than soothing, however.

Tristan thought for a minute.

"Well, if we can keep up a decent pace, I would say we'll reach the ruins within three or four days. Perhaps less, if this rain decides to let up."

"Somehow, I doubt it will," Raolin murmured, staring out into the pitch blackness of the jungle, a puffball flame floating beside his shoulder. His hat hung on a small protruding branch beside him.

Estel refused to discard his foul mood so lightly.

"Yeah, and then we get to walk all the way back through this place to get back to the ship. Sorry if I'm not jumpin' for joy."

"A return trek will not be necessary," Raolin said. "I can Teleport us back to our vessel when the time comes."

Estel froze. Then he sat up and stared through the foliage at Raolin with undisguised incredulity and mounting annoyance.

"You can do that."

"Of course. It's how we left that cavern behind the waterfall, after all."

"Then why the hell didn't you just Teleport us down to these damn ruins instead've makin' us go through all this?!"

"Because I have never been to the ruins," Raolin replied, perfectly calm. His golden-brown eyes remained fixed out on the rain-drenched forest. "I must have personally been to a location before I'm capable of Teleporting there. How else would I be able to visualize my destination properly? Attempting a blind Teleport can have very unpleasant results, and I would rather not inflict that on us."

"He's right, you know," Tristan said. "Teleport is one of the more finicky spells. You need to be very sure of what you're doing and where you're going."

Estel grumbled something and lay back down, glowering up at the makeshift roof. Sapphire, whose branch was nearest to his, sat up on one elbow and looked over at him.

"Estel…"

"I'm fine."

Sapphire frowned, dubious, but she did not press the matter and lay back as well.

"Lying here bickering isn't going to help anything," Tristan said. "Let's all get some sleep; I'm sure we'll feel better in the morning."

* * *

Rain continued to fall. Sometimes it came as a heavy downpour, sometimes only as a light drizzle, but it never halted even for a moment. The constant rain and omnipresent mud slowed the companions' progress, so that in four days they had gone barely half as far as Tristan had projected. Estel began muttering and complaining again, no matter how many times Tristan rebuked him for it. Cen at least kept up a resolute if not cheerful mood, which Sapphire and Raolin tried to maintain as well.

The companions' course began to descend a long, gently sloping hillside, broken up by the occasional flat clearing. The rain had diminished somewhat, with the dense canopy above catching the worst of it; the water instead dripped off the leaves and trickled down the trunks and vines. The companions made their way along with great care, as the slope would make any slip and fall in the mud more difficult to recover from. Tristan, as usual, led the way, followed by Raolin, Estel, and Sapphire, with Cen taking up the guard position at the rear. The shade of the trees combined with the overcast sky made it look almost like twilight even though it was nearly midday, and Tristan had conjured a couple of puffball flames to help them see.

They reached another brief flat stretch along the hill, and Tristan brought the group to a halt so he could get his bearings.

"I think we've started going too far east," he said, looking around. He took the compass hanging from his belt and checked it. "Yes, we definitely turned at some point."

"Great," Estel said flatly. "So we're goin' in circles now."

"Our course has only changed slightly," Raolin said, glancing at the compass as well. "The slope of the hill somewhat forced it. We should be able to correct it once we reach the bottom."

Estel just fumed, and he would have stomped away had doing so not carried the serious risk of slipping and falling all the way down the hill. Instead, he just glowered and swore.

"We don't even know if _that's_ the right way either! We're just guessin'!"

Before Estel could continue or Tristan could retort, Sapphire gave a startled gasp and clapped her hands over her mouth. The others immediately spun around, trying to see what had startled her, but they only saw the endless trees, rain, and mud. Cen relaxed, taking his hand from the hilt of his sword.

"Nothing." He glanced at Sapphire. "Don't scare us like that."

Only Raolin remained unbothered, watching her with faint curiousity from beneath the brim of his hat.

"If that was about Estel's curse, your reflexes are a bit off today."

Sapphire shook her head, still looking stunned. "I just…oh my goodness, I can't believe I forgot about it until now!"

"Well?"

"The compass!"

Estel gaped at her, then he grimaced and slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Shit! I forgot all about that!"

Tristan looked puzzled. "We've been using a compass, though. Why would another one help?"

"It's smart." Estel swung his pack off his back and started rifling through it. "I got it from Lukhan, and it points in the direction of where I need to go. If I've been actin' half-decent, anyway." He paused and shot a worried look at Sapphire. "Think it'll work good now?"

Sapphire nodded. "Definitely. You've been doing very well ever since Gaia."

"Aside from your temper over our current situation," Raolin put in.

Estel scowled at him, then went back to rooting through his bag. After a few seconds, he gave a triumphant cry and pulled out the compass, dangling on its cord. Tristan leaned in to examine it, waving his light closer so he could see.

"So, this is going to tell us which way to go, is it?"

"Yup."

Estel swung the compass onto his palm and checked it. The two needles behaved better than they ever had for him; the longer wavered only slightly from side to side, and the other pointed straight to Estel's right, almost directly due east down the slope of the hill. Estel grinned.

"Now that's more like it. Looks like we almost passed the place, Tris."

"I…guess so." Tristan stared at the compass. "That's one of the strangest instruments I've ever seen in my life."

"Straight from the gods themselves," Estel said with some perhaps justifiable smugness. He tied the compass cord onto his belt beside one of his knives. "Let's get goin' then, huh?"

The group set off, slogging through the mud with Estel now in the lead. He checked the compass every few minutes, but it just kept directing them eastward. At length, the companions reached the bottom of the hill and, after consulting the compass again, set off across the bowl-shaped depression at the bottom, their path now bending slightly to the south. It began to darken further beneath the jungle canopy as the sun drew toward the horizon, and the rain began to fall more heavily from the thick clouds.

"We ought to find a place to camp for the night," Tristan said. He walked just behind Estel, holding one of the puffball flames so they could see their way. "If we keep going much long, it's going to be so dark that we could walk right past the ruins without even seeing them."

Estel halted and looked around at the rain-spattered forest.

"Yeah, good point. Maybe just a little bit more, and then we can stop to sleep. That sound good to everyone?"

No one objected, so the group pressed on. After only a few yards, the ground sloped suddenly downward, and it took some very careful maneuvering for the companions to descend without slipping and falling in the mud. As they reached the bottom of the incline, however, they stopped short as the stench of rotting meat struck them. Ahead, just visible in the gloom, lay the bulk of a massive dead animal, partially sunk into the saturated ground. Sapphire gagged and backed away, pressing her sleeve over her mouth and nose.

"What is that?"

"A wrong turn," Tristan said. He turned up the collar of his cloak to cover his face. "Estel, check that compass again."

"I am." Estel wiped the rain out of his eyes and squinted at the compass's face. "Nah, it's still pointing that way. Guess we just gotta go aroun—"

A low growl interrupted him. The companions froze.

"Er, maybe we _should_ find another way," Estel whispered, his eyes on the carcass. "Just back up slow…"

He had barely retreated two steps when something behind the dead animal moved. A large, angular head appeared, its wet, scaly skin glinting in the light of Tristan's fire. Shreds of flesh, dripping mud and gore, hung from its jaws. The creature swiveled its head to fix its beady gaze on the five companions, then it roared. A second creature, identical to the first, rose into view. Both were easily twenty feet tall. The companions backed away.

"There's no way those ain't dragons," Estel said, his eyes fixed on the creatures. "You can't tell me they're not."

He started to reach for his katana, but Tristan stopped him.

"They're not dragons. Just hold still; maybe they'll just go back to their meal and ignore us."

But whether they saw the companions as challengers or a new entrée, the two tyrannosaurs did not resume eating. One circled around the dead sauropod, the other stepped over it with another roar. Sapphire stumbled back with a cry, clutching her staff before her like a shield, but Cen drew his sword, the blessed blade gleaming in the darkness, and flames burst to life around Raolin's hands.

"So much for that theory," Tristan muttered. He drew his longsword, and then the tyrannosaurs charged.

The companions scattered, while Cen charged forward to meet the first creature head-on. He ducked as it snapped at him, and he slashed open the back of its leg. The tyrannosaur collapsed into the mud with a splash; it thrashed as it tried to right itself, Tristan just managing to side-step its heavy tail. He slogged forward, dodging flailing legs, and stabbed the creature in the chest, just as Cen put his sword through its throat. The creature went still.

The second tyrannosaur bore down on Estel, Sapphire, and Raolin, the mud impeding their escape. Sapphire slipped and fell, and Estel hurried to help her stand while Raolin hurled a fireball at the tyrannosaur's face. It lurched back with a bellow, giving the three companions a chance to get to a safe distance. Raolin readied another fireball, and Estel drew his katana. As the tyrannosaur regained its senses and charged again, however, Tristan shot a blast of ice at its feet, freezing the mud and making the creature slip. It righted itself before anyone could approach and strike, and its tail whipped around, knocking Cen and Tristan away. It turned to pursue Tristan, and as it did, Estel ran up behind it and slashed one of its legs as Cen had done. Blood spurted from the wound, but Estel missed the tendon; the tyrannosaur, infuriated, remained on its feet. Estel tried to get out of the way, but he slipped and splashed into the mud, and the tyrannosaur's foot slammed down on his leg, crushing it. Estel screamed.

Raolin and Tristan both threw fireballs at the tyrannosaur, and it rounded on them with a roar. The instant it stepped off Estel, Sapphire ran forward and dropped to her knees beside him, a marshlight at her side. She started frantically digging the mud away from his leg so she could see to heal him.

"It's okay, Estel, it's okay, I'm here…"

A boiling ball of flames formed between Raolin's hands, and Tristan held his sword ready, but before either of them could attack the charging tyrannosaur, blinding light filled the clearing. Raolin broke off his spell and shielded his eyes.

"Tristan, what—!"

"It's not me!"

There came a metallic rattling from the trees to the left, and dozens of crossbow bolts peppered the tyrannosaur's side. It roared in fury and pain, but before it could turn, a spear took it in the eye and it toppled to the ground, lifeless and twitching.

Cen, Tristan, and Raolin spun toward the direction of the surprise attack, and just as they did, three young men stepped into the clearing. They wore mottled brown and green clothing of an unfamiliar style, and they had their pale blond hair tied back from their dark olive faces. The young man at the front of the group held a crossbow with a drum of bolts attached to the bottom. One of the others held a long-bladed spear and a brilliantly glowing lantern, while the third was weaponless. He moved forward to retrieve the spear from the tyrannosaur's eye. The leader aimed his crossbow at Tristan's chest and demanded something in a strange language.

Tristan gaped. "What—"

The man repeated himself, more forcefully. Taking a guess, Tristan dropped his sword into the mud with a splash and held up his hands, showing them to be empty.

"I don't know what you're saying," he said, his eyes wide but his tone calm. "But we don't want to fight you."

The man frowned, puzzled, then shot a quick look over his shoulder and said something to his companions. The man with the lantern stepped forward at once and picked up Tristan's sword, then stepped back.

"Tristan," Cen said under his breath, also looking confused. "Are they…are these _Lufenians_?"

"I…"

The group's leader repeated his demand again, this time gesturing with his crossbow at Cen. Before Cen could move or reply, however, there came a shout from the third newcomer: he had stopped short on his way to the dead tyrannosaur, having spotted Estel and Sapphire down in the mud. The leader glanced over, then said something to the man beside him and went to investigate.

Sapphire knelt over Estel, still struggling to clear the mud from around his shattered leg: broken in two places, one so badly the bone thrust through the skin. The mud was so wet and oozing that she could make no headway, though, with it seeping back over the limb almost as soon as she had moved it. Estel, pale from pain, watched with wide eyes, his breathing shallow.

"Saph…"

"It's okay," Sapphire said, almost babbling in her frantic worry. "It's okay, Estel, it'll be fine, we just need to get it clear and it'll be fine, I can…" She stopped, breathing hard and watching the mud slurp back into place, then she screamed and slammed her fists against her knees. "Oh, this _stupid_ rain!"

The newcomers' leader took one look at this situation, then immediately began issuing orders. The other two jumped into action at once, the one dropping Tristan's sword and hurrying over while the other quickly retrieved his spear before joining them. The leader turned back to Tristan and snapped something, pointing to him. Tristan raised his hands again.

"I don't know—"

The leader gave an exasperated breath, then strode over, grabbed the edge of Tristan's cloak, and tugged at it while repeating his statement. Tristan's eyes widened again, this time in realization.

"Oh! Oh, of course."

He immediately unclasped his cloak and handed it to the man, who took it without comment and strode over to join his companions. Cen watched the group warily, pushing his rain-soaked bangs out of his eyes.

"What are they doing?"

"Making a litter," Tristan said. He and Raolin both observed the newcomers at work with fascination. "There will be no healing Estel if his wound stays filthy like that. They must have someplace nearby they can take him."

"So we're _not_ in trouble?"

"I…" Tristan hesitated. "I don't think so. At the worst, we're in the custody of people who treat those they've captured civilly."

"We will be due some interrogation regardless," Raolin said. He glanced up at Tristan. "If these are who we think…we may be the first foreigners they've ever encountered. They may have been living under the assumption there _are_ no other people aside from their own still remaining in the world."

Tristan nodded. "That's very possible."

The three newcomers finished constructing the litter, using Tristan's cloak and their own spears, then moved to lift Estel onto it. Sapphire looked up with a start as they picked him up, seeming to only now notice they were there.

"What are you doing? Who are you?"

The leader said something to her, in much calmer, more soothing tones, as the other two men settled Estel, looking nearly as startled at Sapphire, on the litter. Sapphire's eyes just widened further, and her gaze darted around at them.

"What's going on?" She scrambled to her feet, staring at the men, then spinning to face Tristan. "What is this?"

"We've…been rescued," Tristan said. "Apparently."

The leader issued a few orders to the other two newcomers, then he too turned back to Tristan. He said something, his tone still sharp but much less commanding. Tristan could only spread his hands helplessly.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what you're saying."

The man sighed again and shook his head, then repeated himself, this time miming along: he pointed to Tristan and the others, made 'walking' gestures, then pointed to himself and his group. Tristan nodded at once.

"All right. We're to follow them."

The man's shoulders relaxed, but just a little. After sweeping the companions with a narrow, again puzzled look, he put his hand to his chest.

"Vils."

He pointed to Tristan and raised his eyebrows.

"Tristan," the red mage replied.

Vils nodded, then he issued an order to his men, and the three started off into the jungle, bearing Estel along with them. Tristan and the companions immediately fell into step behind them, exchanging confused and worried looks as they went.

They did not go far, half a mile at most, before the newcomers came to a halt at the foot of a tremendous, ancient redwood tree. The group passed into a fork between two exposed roots, at their base even taller than Tristan. Vils took a notched piece of metal, like a key, from a pouch on his belt and slid it into a knot on the tree root; and to the companions' astonishment, a door swung open just beside it, the edges having blended seamlessly with the rest of the wood. The men bearing Estel's litter entered the doorway at once, while Vils pocketed his key and waved the companions on ahead of him. They hesitated for only a moment before obeying. Vils followed them in and shut the door behind him.

The narrow passage beyond went left to follow the trunk, then a stone stairway dove down at a shallow angle. Set in the walls were steadily shining lights, much like the ones from the airship, that brightened as the group approached and dimmed after they had passed. At the bottom of the stairs, the passageway opened up into a low-ceilinged network of chambers. A handful of people, with the same dark skin and fair hair as the companions' rescuers, milled around, talking and tending to weaponry; they looked up as the group arrived, and their eyes widened and a shocked silence fell as they saw the companions.

Vils did not let this last long: he strode forward and stated something, and a nearby man immediately approached and led the pair bearing Estel to a side room. A burst of chatter swept the room, but Vils spoke over it, clearly explaining what was going on. The remaining companions hung back, looking around with a mixture of fascination and bafflement.

The rooms seemed to be some kind of hunting outpost: racks of spears stood along the walls, along with some crossbows like the one Vils bore; piles of animal hides lay folded and neatly tied back in one corner; beside that was a pair of double doors, likely leading back to where the skinning and cleaning was done. Some doors nearer at hand stood open, revealing sleeping chambers. A few low tables and chairs stood in the main common area, but that was the extent of any decoration.

"At least we're finally out of the rain," Raolin commented after a moment. He removed his hat and wrung some of the water out of the peak.

"Is he going to be okay?" Sapphire asked. Her eyes did not leave the door that Estel and the others had gone through. "If any of the mud got into his bloodstream…"

"I bet he'll be fine," Cen assured her. "They know what they're doing, right, Tris?"

Tristan nodded. "Almost undoubtedly."

Sapphire turned her worried gaze up to him. "Can you ask them? You know what they're saying, don't you?"

There was a pause, while Tristan looked over the top of Sapphire's head and listened to Vils talking to the other people in the room. The Lufenians shot similar curious looks back at the companions.

"I wish I did," Tristan said at last, with honest regret. "This is…finding these people is the opportunity of a lifetime. But translating a language from old artifacts is very different from being able to speak it conversationally. If I had something to write with, maybe then…"

Vils finished his explanation and returned to the companions. He asked Tristan something, speaking very slowly and clearly. Tristan listened, frowning, while Cen and Raolin watched him and Sapphire returned her attention to the door.

"I can't…" Tristan hesitated, thinking, then went on. "Alright, let's try this."

He put on a questioning expression and mimed writing something. Vils watched him, then he nodded and crossed over to the racks and cubbies where the weapons were stored. After a moment of rummaging, he returned with a charcoal pen and a board with some sheets of heavy paper tacked to it. He said something and handed the items to Tristan, who accepted them with a nod.

"Good. We should be able to get somewhere now."

He started writing, slowly and carefully, in a very strange, angular script. Cen and Raolin watched him, and even Sapphire looked over after a moment.

"What are you saying?" she asked.

"I'm thanking him for his help," Tristan said. He paused, scratched out a word, then resumed writing. "And asking what he wants to know. Hopefully, the grammar I'm using isn't too antiquated; a lot can happen to a language in four hundred years, after all."

He finished the second sentence, read it all over, then handed the board back to Vils, who accepted it, looking curious. He looked down at the paper, then gave Tristan a startled look before he resumed reading. After a moment, he took the charcoal pen, wrote something of his own, and handed everything back to Tristan. The three Warriors leaned in to look as Tristan read. A couple of the other Lufenians wandered over to watch too.

"Is this going to work?" Cen asked, after a long moment in which Tristan said and did nothing.

"…Yes," Tristan said at last. "There's been some language shift, of course, but I think we'll be able to manage." He reread the page a couple of times. "He's asking who we are and what we're doing here."

Cen shrugged. "Well, that's easy enough."

He slung his pack off his shoulders, reached in, and drew out his gleaming crystal. Red light spilled through the room, dancing like flames across the walls. Vils's eyes flew wide open, and gasps and shouts of surprise came from the Lufenians, all of them dropping what they were doing to crowd over and see what was happening. Tristan gave Cen a slightly chiding look.

"There were more diplomatic ways to explain that, you know."

Another shrug, as the crystal glowed in Cen's outstretched palm. "Well, I just figured it got everyone's attention so well in Onrac, it'd work just as well here." He shot a flat look at Raolin out of the corner of his eye, and Raolin looked away, uncomfortable.

Tristan sighed and shook his head. "Fine. Nothing we can do about it now, I suppose."

He wrote something down anyway, then handed the board back to the gaping Vils. The young man took it with trembling hands, read it, then dashed out a new message and all but shoved the board back to Tristan. The companions and the Lufenians watched raptly as Tristan read.

"What does he say?" Raolin asked, looking tense and uneasy.

After a pause, Tristan replied.

"As precisely as I can tell, it reads, 'Thank the gods. That I should be alive to see this day. Who is the Champion of the Air?'"

Raolin let out a heavy breath, his shoulders relaxing. Sapphire, on the other hand, seized Tristan's arm at once, her eyes wide again.

"That's Estel! He's the one with the Wind Crystal shard!" She turned to Vils and pointed at the door Estel and the others had gone through. "Him! You'll be able to take care of him, won't you?"

Vils may not have understood her words, but he definitely took her meaning. He nodded immediately, said something in what seemed an affirmative tone, then said something to a woman who had come to stand beside him. She nodded, then turned and started issuing orders to the rest of the group. Vils turned back to the companions as the Lufenians dispersed, and he gestured for the paper. Tristan handed it back, and Vils wrote a few more lines, then returned it.

"'We will mend him quickly,'" Tristan read aloud. "'With our best skill. Then you all must go to the city in the morning. We will send messengers ahead so all is ready.'"

"Sounds good to us," Cen said, nodding.

"Ask if I can go back and see him," Sapphire said, looking up at Tristan. "Now that we're inside, I'll be able to help heal him."

Tristan wrote this down, added one other line, then passed the board back to Vils. The young man quickly jotted down a reply, which Tristan nodded over as he read.

"He says you're welcome to assist, and I believe I'll go with you to help communicate. He also says…" He glanced around at the companions. "…that we're free to use the barracks here to clean up and sleep for the night." He indicated an open door nearby.

"And that sounds even better," Cen said fervently. He picked up his pack and stuck his crystal back in it. "I was starting to forget what a real bed felt like."

Tristan chuckled, then he and Sapphire followed Vils toward the infirmary. Cen headed to the open door at once, not sparing a word or even a glance for Raolin. The mage said nothing, just following after a moment with his hat in hand.


	44. The Hidden City

**Chapter 44: The Hidden City**

By the next morning, Estel was recovered and back to his old self. After the Lufenians had taken him to their infirmary the previous evening, they had immediately administered some kind of medicine that had put him to sleep, and he had thus missed all the subsequent excitement: the Lufenian doctors cleaning and beginning surgery on his leg; Sapphire, Tristan, and Vils arriving, and Sapphire's shock and exclamations over the Lufenians' advanced medical equipment; Tristan and Vils hurriedly trying to explain everything to everybody; and the doctors' open-mouthed astonishment over who exactly they were operating on. Estel remained unconscious through the surgery, and through Sapphire casting Cura to fully heal the mended leg—which had startled the Lufenians as much as their medical equipment had startled Sapphire. Unconsciousness faded to normal sleep, and Estel woke the next day in a small recovery room, none the worse for wear aside from some remaining bits of dried mud on his clothes.

Once he had gotten his bearings, Estel climbed out of the low cot and stretched out his healed leg a bit, making sure everything was working properly. He walked around the edge of the room a couple of times, just to make sure, then he headed toward the only door, assuming from the lack of a guard that he did not need to stay.

The door opened onto a narrow corridor, with a couple of other doors in the wall opposite Estel's, and another down at one end. By this far door stood one of the Lufenians. Estel opened his mouth to say something to her, but she just exclaimed something as soon as she saw him and darted through the door beside her. Estel frowned after her.

"Okay…"

He headed down the corridor and through the door himself. Beyond it was the main common room, and Estel stopped short the instant he stepped in, staring.

Lined up in the center of the room, facing the door in two neat ranks, were the dozen Lufenians of the outpost, Vils on one end of the front row and the woman from the hall on the other. As soon as Estel came into the room, Vils snapped an order, and the Lufenians saluted in perfect unison, each raising one fist to their chests and then bowing.

Estel gaped. "Uh."

Before he could say anything else, Sapphire appeared almost out of nowhere and flung her arms around him, hugging him tight.

"Oh, you're all right!"

Estel grunted at the impact, but still hugged Sapphire in return. "Well, yeah, 'course I am. Er." He glanced around over the top of her head. "What's goin' on?"

Sapphire released him, looked around at the gathered Lufenians, then back to Estel, beaming.

"Well, you're their champion, aren't you? For coming to defeat the Fiend of Wind. They're thrilled that you're here."

Estel blinked a couple of times as he absorbed this, then a self-conscious grin crept onto his face.

"I sure can't argue with that one. Looks like things've started looking up since last night, huh?"

Sapphire nodded, as behind her, Vils began issuing a few orders to the Lufenians and they dispersed to obey. As they moved, Tristan and Cen came into view, standing off by the far wall, as did Raolin, seated at a nearby table with one of his books.

"Everyone's so excited," Sapphire said, taking Estel's hand and leading him toward the others. "Tristan and Vils were up almost all night talking and making plans. Once everyone's ready to go, we'll be heading to the Lufenians' city, where we'll meet with their leaders and get all the information and supplies we'll need. And Vils said the entire city will probably be out to welcome us, since he sent a message ahead to let the Elders know we were here."

Estel gave an impressed whistle. "Damn. Gotta say, this isn't what I'd figured we'd find out here when we started this trip."

"None of us did," Tristan said, smiling as Estel and Sapphire joined them. "Good to see you're back in fighting shape, Estel."

"Thanks." Estel gave his leg an experimental stretch. "Not the worst thing that's happened to me on this trip, but still, _damn_."

"A very inventive way to lead us where we needed to go, however," Raolin chimed in, not looking up from his book. "Your compass apparently has a rather morbid sense of humor."

"Har har," Estel said dryly.

Tristan chuckled. "Well, at least it worked out for the best."

"Saph said something about us goin' to a city now?"

"Yeah." Cen nodded. "Everyone else is all set; we've just been waiting for you. We can get going as soon as you're ready."

Estel started to say something, then stopped and grimaced. "Back out into the rain, huh?"

"Actually, no," Tristan said. "But I'll explain that later." He gave a nod toward a side room. "For now, you just worry about getting something to eat before we leave."

"_That_ sounds better." Estel headed to the indicated door, Sapphire tagging along with him, still hand in hand.

* * *

Once Estel had eaten and gotten ready, the group set off. Many of the Lufenians remained at the outpost, finishing the work they were doing there, but a few accompanied Vils and the companions as a sort of honor guard. As Tristan had said, they did not return to the surface to travel to the Lufenian city; instead, Vils led them to a door at the rear of the outpost, which opened onto a long, broad tunnel. According to Vils's notes, translated by Tristan, this was just part of a whole network of underground paths that the Lufenians used to traverse the jungle much more quickly than they could move up on the surface, particularly during the rainy season.

The only other caverns the companions could even compare to the tunnel system were the mines of Duergar, and even that was a rough comparison at best: both were constructed rather than natural, and that was where the similarities ended. While the Duergar mines had been made for utility and work only, the Lufenian tunnels were both functional and beautiful. The wide passageways ran smooth and straight through the stone, lit by the same kind of lights as the stairway above and provided with fresh air from a series of vents. Different colored bands of rock and the occasional vein of glittering quartz cut through the walls, and these had been polished until they shone. A few times, the tunnel opened up, passing through a large natural cavern, and even these bore some artistic touches: carven arches over the path, sweeping bridges over depressions and chasms, and little way-stations with wells, enclosed courtyards, and supply bins. Other times, one wall would give way to a sheet of glass, revealing a view of an outside valley or canyon filled with trees and mist.

Vils led the group through this stunning network of paths, accompanied by Tristan; the two continued to trade notes as they walked, when Tristan was not busy studying their surroundings. Cen and the other Warriors followed, and the other Lufenians brought up the rear, talking amongst themselves. The companions could not help but stare around as Tristan was, though without his degree of professional interest. Estel, as usual when underground, kept a tight hold on Sapphire's hand as they walked, but even he could not help exclaiming over some of the sights, particularly the views from the long windows. The Lufenians seemed pleased by his approval in particular.

The trek through the tunnels took the better part of the day even with a break for lunch, which was a drastic improvement: on the surface, covering the same distance could have taken at least a week. At last, the tunnel opened up, depositing the companions and Lufenians onto a smooth, curbed road leading into a tremendous cavern, so large the far sides could not even be guessed at. The one near wall soared up, not rough and unhewn but polished and decorated with beautiful carvings, to a ceiling that could not be seen because it was obscured by foggy clouds. On either side of the road stood rows of fields growing all manner of strange plants. These farms went on for some distance, interspersed with small, cobbled houses and the ocassional road. Beyond them glowed a wall of points of light, like stars in the grey distance. This, Vils declared, was the city.

"All this, hidden under that jungle?" Sapphire said, looking around with wide eyes as they walked. Lights on tall posts lit their way along the road. "It barely feels like we're still in a cave!"

"No kidding." Estel stared around in equal awe. "Man, we never would've found this place in a million years. It's lucky Vils and them found us."

"You're going to ascribe that to mere luck, hm?" Raolin said, shooting Estel a slightly amused look.

Tristan did not acknowledge any of this conversation. He had stared around silently for a moment as the group had entered the cavern, then immediately started scribbling a long new message to Vils. Cen could not stop himself from chuckling a bit at his brother's enthusiasm.

"We might be stuck here for a while. Tristan's going to want to study _everything_ in this place."

"Can't blame him," Estel said, looking up at a passing light post. "_Damn._"

The group continued on, passing the farms, roads, and scattered houses. As they walked, the houses and other buildings became more frequent, and before long they found themselves at the city itself, climbing the slopes of a rolling peak near the edge of the cavern.

Light came in here, spilling through fissures in the distant cavern roof along with creeping vines and a single, slender waterfall that cascaded down into an oval bowl that marked the center of the city. Around this, sweeping terraces lined with buildings climbed up to the cavern wall, then continued up it, with lights beaming from doors and windows carved into the rock face. A tinkling sound like wind chimes drifted through the air. Beyond the waterfall basin stood a large, domed building, which Vils pointed to with a comment.

"We're going there, I guess," Cen said at length, as Tristan was too lost in amazement and gave no sign of replying. "The…castle?"

"Works for me," Estel said. He looked up at the city, scanning the arched bridges and balconies, and gave an impressed whistle. "Never figured a cave could actually be this pretty. Or…live-in-able."

"'Hospitable,'" Raolin corrected.

"Yeah, that."

Vils grinned as he took in the companions' awe, and he said something to them in a pleased tone before setting off up the street again.

The road now led upward into the city in long, lazy switchbacks often intersected with narrow sidestreets and alleys. And here, after a long, quiet walk thus far, some commotion finally occurred: a few at first, then more and more of the city's people came out onto the street, cheering and bowing to the companions as they passed. Some waved bright handkerchiefs, some saluted as the Lufenians at the outpost had done, and a few even fell to their knees and wept. It was a fanfare such as the companions had not seen since their departure from Elfheim over a year previously.

Estel and Cen enjoyed every moment of this, just as before, while Sapphire just smiled self-consciously and Raolin shrank into his collar as usual, looking more uncomfortable than irritable this time. Vils and the rest of the companions' guard took on a posture of regal dignity, marching at perfect attention as they escorted Tristan and the others up the streets and finally to the great dome he had indicated on their arrival.

The building soared up as tall as the castle of Cornelia, the dome polished marble and carved pillars bordering the doors below. These stood open onto the square before the building, and Vils led the companions inside without a pause. The entry hall was large and open, lit with warm, golden lamps. Two sweeping staircases curved along the walls, leading up to a landing above with another door flanked by a pair of Lufenians in long, pale robes; other doors dotted the walls down below. Vils said something to the companions, with an accompanying 'wait here' gesture, then hurried up the stairs. He said something to the two guards, and they immediately opened the door for him. He left, and a few minutes later, he returned and hurried down to the companions, gesturing for them to follow him.

The doors above led to another looping staircase to the upper floor, up inside the dome itself. Tristan and the other could not help staring up at the inside of the rotunda: stunning murals covered it, showing the Lufenians' history in bold lines and colors. One segment showed the empire as it had been in the past: towering spires and domes, beautiful gardens, airships dotting the sky. Another showed the founding of this underground refuge, the digging of the tunnels, the placing of the first cornerstone of the city itself. And between these…

A dragon. Enormous, even larger than Bahamut, it stood in the ruins of the spires and domes, gouts of smoke curling up around it. Six necks sprouted from its twisted body, and all its mouths gaped wide in a terrible roar. The ground below its claws ran a lurid red.

Before Estel could so much as swear over this, Vils spoke up, calling the companions' attention. He gestured to the far side of the room, then turned that way himself and said something in much more formal tones.

On an oval dais, beneath the portion of the ceiling depicting Lufenia in its past glory, stood three high-backed marble chairs, draped with cloth and cushions. Three elderly Lufenians sat in them, a woman in the center with a man on either side of her. Their blue-green robes were very ornate, embellished with silver embroidery and small, green gems. They watched with interest as the companions approached, led by Vils.

"Hey, Tris," Cen said under his breath, glancing at his brother. "I know this is amazing and everything, but you need to pull yourself together for a minute."

"Right…" Tristan said, still gazing up at the rotunda. "Yes, of course."

They reached the foot of the dais, and Vils said something to the three elders. He then flipped to a clean page on his sheaf of papers, wrote something, and handed the board to Tristan. This, at least, shook Tristan out of his reverie, and he took the message and read it.

In the pause, Estel gave a quick wave to the people on the dais. The woman smiled and waved back.

"Ah." Tristan turned to the companions. "These are the leaders of the Lufenians. Vils says they want to speak to us."

He jotted a quick answer back, which Vils relayed to the elders. The woman nodded, then addressed the companions. Vils and Tristan teamed up to translate for the other companions.

"Welcome to Lufenia, Light Bearers. Words cannot express how grateful and honored we are to be in your presence, and how saddened we are by the occurrence that rushed your arrival."

She inclined her head to Estel, who was trying his hardest not to look too pleased at having yet more of a fuss made over him.

"The honor is ours…" Sapphire started, taking up the role of diplomat, before hesitating and glancing at Tristan. "How should I address them?" she whispered.

Tristan passed the question to Vils, who commented something with a bit of a smile. The woman smiled as well.

"You may call us by our names," she said. She gestured to herself. "Anu." She turned to her right, nodding to the man seated there. "Calom." She nodded to the man to her left. "Niv."

Sapphire nodded. "Thank you."

The second man, Niv, spoke up. "Not that we doubt," he said, "but may we see the crystals you bear?"

"Of course."

Sapphire immediately took out her crystal, and its warm light flooded the room. Cen brought out his red crystal at the same time, turning the golden light orange. And after an uncomfortable hesitation, Raolin drew out his blue crystal, and the new color changed the rippling light to a pale seafoam green. Estel even took out his little, dark crystal shard. Vils and the elders all uttered quiet gasps, looking from the light on the walls to the crystals in the companions' hands.

"Beautiful," Anu said, holding her hands up as though in supplication. "The light is so close to being whole once more."

"We are doing our best to restore it," Sapphire said, tucking her crystal away. The others followed suit a moment later.

"What can we do to help you, Champions?" Calom asked, looking around at the companions. "It has been foretold that you will save our people. It would be the height of ingratitude if we did not aide you to the utmost of our ability."

"Ah…" Sapphire glanced at Raolin, then at Estel and Tristan. "In truth, we don't know the location of the Wind Crystal. We came here hoping for clues, though we didn't think we'd find…we didn't know what we would find."

Calom nodded. "We understand. Do not worry; we will help you all we can." He reached to a small table beside him, and struck a brass bell standing on it. He then turned back to the companions. "The Shrine of Wind resides in the Flying Fortress, the castle our ancestors long ago set beyond the sky."

"Just like you thought, Tris!" Estel said, elbowing Tristan. "Then that's gotta be where that metal person we found came from, right?"

"Presumably," Raolin said.

There came a rustle from the stairway, and one of the guards from the entrance hurried into the room. He approached Calom, and the two of them spoke for a moment before the guard strode off back down the stairs. Calom returned his attention to the companions.

"The Flying Fortress can only be reached through the Mirage Tower, the center of our former realm."

"The desert I showed you on the map," Tristan clarified. "The Yahnikurm."

Estel nodded. "Gotcha."

"Does this tower still stand?" Raolin asked. "After all this time?"

"We are certain it does," Anu said. "Its power is tied to the Fortress; if the one remains, so does the other."

"I see."

"Moreover," Anu went on, "the Mirage Tower has been sealed to prevent intruders from ravaging it. You will need a special item to break this seal and gain entrance so you may ascend to the Fortress."

"What sort of item?" Sapphire asked.

Just then, the guard returned. He went to Calom's side and handed him a small object, which Calom then held up for the companions to see: it was a small, silver tube, like a bell from a windchime, attached to a braided green cord with a silky tassel on the other end.

"This," Calom said. "The Adamant Chime."

He handed it back to the guard, who then carried over to the companions. He offered it to Estel, who took and inspected it with interest. Up close, intricate etching could be seen on the chime's surface, some which looked like swirled geometric patterns, and some which looked like writing in an unfamiliar alphabet.

"Neat," Estel proclaimed after a moment. "So how's this gonna unseal the tower?"

"It's keyed to a musical enchantment, I would assume," Raolin said, before Tristan could relay the question. "Such things were highly effective in providing protection, but as they are connected to Wind magic, their use has obviously vanished in current times. This one must be linked to the mechanics of this tower, as the Nul shields on the airship are, with this chime as the key."

"So we just ring this outside the tower when we find it, and we'll be able to get inside?" Estel asked.

"I would imagine so."

"Correct, Champion," Anu said, smiling, after Tristan and Vils passed along the gist of the discussion. "You are very knowledgeable. Yes, that Chime will unlock the seal on the Mirage Tower, and allow you to enter. Once inside, you will find a device at the highest level; this will carry you to the Fortress."

"And the Fiend," Estel said, sobering a bit.

He and the other companions glanced at the dragon snarling down from the ceiling above. The elders followed their gaze, and cast the image a dark look. Niv touched his forehead, then each shoulder in a sort of warding gesture.

"Tiamat," he said with a frown, a name the companions recognized without translation. "Yes, her lair is in the Fortress, as it has been these four hundred years, since she destroyed our great empire. We're fortunate that she can trouble us little here: the occasional pestilence, but we're too hidden for her storms to reach us."

"Fortunate indeed," Raolin said, with great effort keeping the edge of bitterness out of his voice.

"You know we'll need to fight her," Cen said to the elders, ignoring Raolin's comment. "Could you tell us what you know about what she did before, so we can be prepared? Frankly, I'm tired of being blind-sided by these things."

The elders conferred for a few moments, before Anu turned back to the companions.

"It was a long time ago. We've passed the memories down, but they have begun to fade after so many years. We'll tell you what we can."

She looked down at her hands, clasped in her lap, then back to Tristan and the others.

"She approached as a storm. Though she bore no wings, she harnessed the wind around her, and it carried her down into the heart of the city. Each mouth spewed a different death. One shattered buildings with bolts of lightning. One froze people to death, another burned them to ashes. One exhaled clouds of pestilence and poison. One merely devoured all in her path. She and her monsters ravaged our people and left only ruin behind them. Not even Fenrir himself could stop their advance and destruction."

Cen exhaled heavily. "So she can do everything the other three did, and then some. Great. Just great."

"At least you know this time," Tristan said, leaving Cen's comment untranslated.

"Yeah…"

"And Saph can protect us from a lot of that," Estel put in. He turned to Sapphire. "Right, with those spells?"

Sapphire nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Is there any other information that you require?" Niv asked.

"Yes," Raolin said at once. He removed his pack, and from it took the cube he and Estel had found. He offered it to the elders. "We received this a short time ago, from a…being that fell from the sky. Its markings indicated it was made by your ancestors. Is there anything you can tell us about it or its purpose?"

Niv accepted the cube and turned it over in his hands a few times, studying it.

"A simple power source," he said at length, handing the cube back to Raolin. "Such things provided the energy to many of our devices before the fall. If this one still contains power, it may be able to activate any that you find in Mirage Tower."

"I see." Raolin stowed the cube back in his pack. "Thank you."

Estel nodded. "Good to know."

"Thank you so much for your help," Sapphire said, sketching a curtsy to the elders. "We couldn't finish this quest without it."

"It is we who should be thanking you," Anu said. "You are the champions of the entire world, and the ones who will bring our power back to us after all these centuries. I can't imagine the hardships you have faced in completing this work."

"It's…been difficult," Sapphire managed after a moment.

Anu gave a solemn nod. "We understand. Please, know that you're free to stay here for as much time as you need to prepare for this task. Our people will help you in any way they can."

"Thank you, Anu."

"And you're welcome to have audience with us whenever necessary," Calom added. "We know you must have more questions, and we certainly have many of our own to ask in return. We…don't know as much of the world as we used to."

Sapphire smiled a bit. "Of course."

"The feeling is mutual," Raolin said. "No offense intended, but we came here expecting to find ruins, not a thriving city. I'm certain we're both equally surprised to meet one another."

Anu chuckled. "Indeed. For now, however, we're sure you would like to rest. Accomodations have been made for you nearby; Vils will lead you to them. Send word if you wish to speak with us, and we'll do likewise."

The companions thanked the elders and gave their farewells, then Vils escorted them back outside and off toward their lodgings.

* * *

The companions remained in Lufenia for nearly two weeks. They stayed at a sort of open-air inn, the rooms arranged in a square facing an open central courtyard with a garden and fountain. They were simple accomodations, but comfortable ones, and a welcome change from the trek through the jungle.

Tristan spent nearly all of his time out researching. He roamed through the city, taking notes on everything, and often went back to speak to the elders. More often than not, one or two of the companions accompanied him with the latter. Mostly, however, the companions just took the opportunity to rest. They looked around the city some, but more calmly than Tristan, and spent much time at the inn sleeping, preparing their equipment, and working on Cen and Estel's magic lessons. Wherever they went, though, they tended to attract a crowd: as the elders had said, the Lufenian people were delighted at the Light Warriors' arrival, and were only too happy to come see them or help them in any way. The only one of the companions who had any kind of problem with this was Raolin, as usual, and even then he was only uncomfortable rather than surly.

One afternoon a few days into the companions' stay, Estel ended up wandering around the waterfall basin in the center of the city. He munched on a piece of yellow fruit that he did not know the name of as he walked, and he had a fancy-looking pastry in the other hand for when the fruit was done: this was not the first time he had received random free food here, and it would not be the last, either. He had lost any entourage for the moment, though people did stop to salute or bow as he passed; he made certain to wave back when they did this, despite being absorbed in his snack.

At length, he came to a courtyard near the top of the basin, just clear of the mist billowing out from the falls. The paving there changed from simple stones to a tile mosaic: greens, blues, and gold making a striking geometric pattern. One side faced the waterfall, with a sturdy stone railing along the edge marking a sort of balcony. On the other, a hedge of flowering bushes stood, behind a row of benches.

On one of these benches sat Sapphire, one foot tucked up beneath her. She was fully absorbed with something she held in her lap, and so she did not notice Estel's arrival until he walked over and sat down next to her.

"Hey."

"Oh!" Sapphire looked up in surprise, then smiled. "Hello, Estel."

He smiled back and offered her the pastry. "Hungry?"

Sapphire giggled, then reached beside her and picked up an identical pastry to show him.

"I walked past that store too."

Estel gave a snort of laughter. "Well, never mind, then." He set his own pastry down beside him and took a final bite of fruit. "Wish more places were like this. 'Oh, you've gotta save the world? Here, we'll give you _all this free stuff_ to help you.' None of that havin' to pay for all our new gear crap like the other places."

"It's _very_ generous of them," Sapphire agreed. "I wish I could speak to them a little; I'd like to be able to thank them properly."

"Tristan can help out with that later, I guess. Where is he today, anyway? Back with the elders again?"

"Yes, with Cen this time."

The pair fell silent for a moment, listening to the waterfall. Estel tossed the rind from the fruit into a little bin between their bench and the neighboring one, and Sapphire turned her attention back to her little project. After a moment, Estel leaned over to watch her work.

"What're you doing?"

"Oh. Um."

Sapphire blushed a bit, then moved her hands away so he could see. In her lap lay a thick sheaf of paper, and on the top sheet was a half-finished sketch of the waterfall and the city below. As Estel looked at it, Sapphire hurriedly scrubbed out a line and redrew it more tidily. Estel just gave an impressed whistle.

"That's great, Saph!"

"You think so?" Sapphire blushed darker, a self-conscious smile on her face. "It's not really finished yet, but…"

"It still looks great, though. I didn't know you…" Estel trailed off, then shook his head. "Oh, wait, yeah I did! You had that art stuff in your room in Elfheim. I remember looking at it."

Sapphire gave a slightly nervous laugh and went back to her drawing.

"I'm a bit out of practice. I haven't had time for this since we've been traveling."

"Hey, it's still loads better than I could do. I really like it."

"Thanks…"

Estel watched her sketch for a moment. "Have you drawn anything else?" he said at length. "I mean, like, while we've been here?"

"Um…a little."

Sapphire moved the top paper aside and spread out a couple underneath so Estel could see them. One had a large drawing of the tile mosaic, and the second had a handful of sketches of the courtyard of the inn: the fountain, the arched entryway, and a couple of different kinds of flowers. Estel examined these with interest, and Sapphire watched him.

"I dunno what you mean by 'out of practice'," he said after a minute. "These look amazing to me. Hey, what's that one?"

The corner of a third piece of paper peeked out from beneath the other two, with just the edge of a sketch visible on it. Estel pulled it out before Sapphire could say anything, then he stopped and stared at it.

It was a drawing of him, reclining in one of the padded armchairs from the airship. Sapphire blushed from her neck to her hairline as Estel looked the picture over with surprise, and almost at once she tried to tug it out of his hand.

"That's not…um…"

Estel just smiled and handed it back to her. "Looks just like me."

Sapphire mumbled something and shuffled the drawing out of sight.

"I like it," Estel assured her. "Never had anyone do my picture before; Idren never even let me be in the family portraits after they adopted me. Glad I got such a good one for my first."

Sapphire did not reply, still looking self-conscious, so Estel desisted. The pair sat in silence and watched the waterfall for a while, as Sapphire's blushing subsided. A few Lufenians walked by after a while, and they paused to salute the two Warriors. Estel waved in acknowledgement.

"Y'know," he said, as the group continued on. "We're almost done with this whole thing. This is the last Crystal."

He glanced at Sapphire, and she nodded.

"I know. It will be such a relief not to have it weighing on us anymore."

"No kidding." Estel cleared his throat, then went on, trying to sound off-hand. "So…when we're done. What do you want to do?"

"Well, you wanted to go back to Gaia, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I asked what _you_ wanna do."

Sapphire opened her mouth to reply, then she stopped and turned to Estel with wide eyes.

"Are…are you asking—"

"Just wonderin'," Estel said hurriedly. "I mean, I'm not tryin' to…I'm just, you know, asking. I mean, we've been doing this Light Warriors thing for a long time now, so it'll be weird getting back to normal, right?"

"I…suppose so." Sapphire continued to watch him curiously. "Well, then… Well, I'm sure I'd need to return to Elfheim to report on our journey. Prince Avarion wanted to hear about it, after all, and I'm sure the historians would want to record it all for the archives."

"Makes sense," Estel said with a shrug. "Savin' the world _is_ a pretty big deal. I bet Crescent and Cornelia would wanna hear about it all too, and get it written down and everything."

"Right. But…" Sapphire hesitated, looked down at her lap, then back at Estel. "If it's a matter of 'wanting'…I think I'd rather go to Gaia first."

Estel perked up. "Really?"

Sapphire nodded. "And…we'd see how things went from there."

She smiled, and Estel smiled back.

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good."

They settled back on the bench into amiable silence, watching the waterfall and finally getting around to eating their pastries. After she was done, Sapphire went back to working on her sketch, while Estel watched her.

"You should draw all the other stuff we've seen," he said as she added a few final lines. "Y'know, when this is all done. That'd be even better than just telling everyone what happened."

Sapphire blushed again, but she did smile. "Maybe."

"And a portrait of all of us lookin' all heroic and stuff."

This time she started giggling. "I think us looking exhausted would be more accurate, really."

"Yeah, but that's not as impressive."

"I suppose not." Sapphire looked over her picture, seeming satisfied with the results. "Well, maybe I will. That would be a really good way to remember our journey, wouldn't it?"

"Definitely." Estel got to his feet and stretched. "Well, I dunno what time it is, but d'you wanna head back to the inn? We can start a plan for this next trip, and maybe Raolin will be doin' one of his magic shows for the kids again. That's always fun to watch."

Sapphire smiled and stood up as well, her papers tucked securely in one arm. "All right. And I hope he is; that seems to cheer him up so much."

And they headed off down the path, hand in hand and continuing to talk.

* * *

**Update: **Just a quick update on the situation, and an apology for my absence. Some of the previous delays _have_ been resolved, but new ones have popped up as well, including me needing to adjust to a new job. Hopefully, things will calm down soon so posting can resume. Again, let me assure you: the story _is_ completely written, and will be posted in its entirety. Thank you again for your patience and understanding.


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